Mindy McCready biography

McCready later said that this was not the first time he had attacked her. The state of Tennessee issued restraining orders against both McKnight and McCready: McKnight was not allowed to enter the state, and McCready was not allowed to leave it. But McCready soon violated her restraining order by visiting McKnight in Florida.

In July 2005, McCready was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution,

all of which she attributed to being taken in by a con artist. Two months later, the troubled singer was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, following an attempted suicide. In September 2005, she was hospitalized again for a second attempted suicide by antidepressant overdose.

After surviving two self-inflicted brushes with death, McCready credited McKnight with saving her life. "I loved him," she said. "I just loved him. I missed him terribly even though he did terrible things to me. The relationship was very tumultuous. It's amazing how you can forget such terrible things so easily, you know, even when they're still fresh in your mind and try to only remember the good things. And, even though he did the things he did, I still missed him and wanted to see him. So, I went down to visit him and, of course, we ended up, you know, having sex and I got pregnant and I tried to commit suicide."

In November 2005, McCready wrote and released the song "Black and Blue," donating the proceeds to Women Against Domestic Violence. Zander Ryan McCready, the son of Mindy McCready and Billy McKnight, was born on March 25, 2006.

McCready's legal troubles continued to mount. She was sentenced to a year of jail in September 2007 for violating the terms of her earlier probation, but was released just three months later. In 2008, she was jailed once again for violating probation, though she was released after 30 days for good behavior.

Roger Clemens Affair

In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a long-term affair between McCready and married baseball player Roger Clemens. McCready confirmed the affair, saying that she and Clemens first met when she was 16 and their relationship lasted for over a decade. That year she also released a new single, "I'm Still Here," her first in six years.

In 2010, Mindy McCready was featured on the third season of Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. She quarreled frequently with fellow housemate Kari Ann Pineche. While on the show, McCready discovered she had undiagnosed brain damage as a result of her beatings from McKnight. Her fifth studio album, I'm Still Here, was released on March 23, 2010.

In April 2010, a sex tape depicting McCready with a previous boyfriend was released. A month later, she was hospitalized in Florida for a potential overdose after a judge refused to grant her an emergency order to regain custody of her son from her mother.

McCready's life in the spotlight was difficult for the troubled singer and she had hoped her public struggles might help others.