It’s not surprising to learn that well-known artists find their inspiration for music in different things. In a similar manner, Jerry Cantrell has his girlfriend as a muse.
It is a well-known fact that Jerry has never married, and many of his creations are inspired or dedicated to his partners.
Wrote Many Songs about Ex-Girlfriend Courtney Clarke
Among his associations with multiple women in the past, his affinity with Courtney Clarke stands out the most. The former couple never had a stable relationship from the beginning of their romance in 1988 to the end in 1995.
The date of their relationship timeline varies from source to source. While IMDb states, they started dating in 1988 and parted ways in 1995, Who’s Dated Who states they broke up in 1996.
Jerry and Courtney’s paths first collided in Seattle at a Guns N’ Roses concert. Sadly, there are no details on how their love blossomed besides the fact that Jerry considered her his long-time love.
When the ex-couple was still together, Jerry was inspired to write a lot of songs from their tormented relationship. Among his many songs, ‘Down in a Hole’ is his best-known creation.
As the lyrics were inspired by his then-partner, the video was later dedicated to Mike Inez’s dog Chuck. It has a short appearance in the video and sadly passed away soon after the shooting.
Jerry was kind of sure that he was not the kind of guy who would settle down with anyone. Cantrell wrote, “This life is not conducive to much success with long-term relationships” in Alice in Chains 1999’s box set Music Bank‘s liner notes.
Besides ‘Down in a Hole,’ he also probably had Courtney in his mind when he wrote ‘Heaven Beside You,’ ‘Rain When I Die,’ ‘Breaks My Back,’ and ‘She Was My Girl,’ to name a few.
During an interview with the Rolling Stones in 1996, Jerry described his then-love interest as the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.
Nevertheless, Courtney has been married since 30 August 2008 to her husband Craig Brooks.
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Lost His Virginity When He Was 17
Well, Jerry is not very open when it comes to his dating life. The guitarist rarely shares information about his relationships. Humorously, he once talked about having sex for the first time with Forbes.
Jerry Cantrell had been a huge fan of Iron Maiden since his early days. His mother, who used to let him skip school once in a while, let him skip school again with some of his friends.
He had planned to attend Iron Maiden’s concert with his then-girlfriend and a guy. Well, the guy had a van, and he was going to drive them to the venue.
Reminiscing about the time, he said, “I remember both of our mothers were really nervous about us skipping school and spending too much time alone at home before we left.” So, they were asking what was going on.
However, the guy had to get his flat tires fixed, which took him a couple of hours. Eventually, Jerry had enough time alone with his then-partner. That morning he lost his virginity, and he was just 17.
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Relationships and Dating Rumors
Before being with Courtney Clarke, Jerry was rumored to have hooked up with American artist Angel Olivencia.
Later after his break up with Courtney, Jerry also had a similar on-and-off relationship with Krisha Augerot. They dated from 1989 to 1991, as per Whos Dated Who.
Then Jerry was rumored to be in a relationship with his possible girlfriends Carmella McCoy and Shawnee Smith in 2001/2 and 2004, respectively.
His latest known relationship is with the beautiful Heather Ankeny, whom he dated in 2008. When they were together, they attended the FUSE TV 2008 Pre-Grammy Celebration at GOA.
Unfortunately, there are no details on who Jerry’s current girlfriend is. His social media are filled with his work-related posts mostly, and he has never mentioned his dating.
