Lisa Hartman Black & Clint Black’s Song ‘When I Said I Do’ Inspired New Lifetime Movie (EXCL)

A great song can often be the launch pad for other creative endeavors, and “When I Said I Do” is in the spotlight once again. The 1999 chart-topping hit Clint Black recorded with his wife Lisa Hartman Black has inspired a new Lifetime movie that debuts this weekend.

“We’re so happy with it and can’t wait for everybody to see it,” Lisa tells Woman’s World of the movie, which premieres May 23 on Lifetime at 8 p.m. EST. “A gentleman named Adam Reed. He’s a producer. He called and basically said, ‘I have an idea for a movie for this song, marrying the two, if you will.’ And we just loved it!”

“When I Said I Do,” written by Clint, spent two weeks at the top of the Country chart in December 1999 and also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Lisa remembers the first time Clint played it for her in their kitchen. “It brought me to tears. It was incredible,” she says of the track, which won the Academy of Country Music Award for Vocal Event of the Year.

“It’s so different than anything he had written and special in so many ways,” Lisa says. “He asked me to sing it with him and I went, ‘No.’ Then he explained to me that he couldn’t sing that with anyone else and I said, ‘Well, good point.’ I was just scared honestly…but I finally came around. I thank God I did it, because what I would have missed out on, what we would have missed out on.”

Bringing the hit song to screen

Clint admits they were initially reluctant to see their song become a movie, but Adam won them over. “It was a lot of trust because that song is precious to us and I remember thinking no,” Clint says. “We went through this meeting and at the end of it, I was so excited to do it…The whole thing was so much fun because Adam really empowered us to be a part of the creative process and to have enough input for us to feel like this was going to be a partnership with our song and our sensibilities and that was most important to us. It was a fun journey to go on and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this. It turned out so great.” 

Though the song is central to the movie, the plot isn’t based on Clint and Lisa’s life. Directed by Stefan Brogren, the movie stars Sarah Drew as Ali Corley, a widowed K-9 handler, who meets Shawn Willis, portrayed by Eric Johnson, when he performs a daring rescue saving stranded hikers.

Because her husband died in the line of duty, Ali is hesitant to become involved with someone in a dangerous profession. Yet romance blossoms as both Ali and Shawn confront their pasts and try to forge a future despite the obstacles their relationship faces.

“I kept having to stop and go get Kleenex because it was just so good,” Lisa says of her reaction to first reading the script by Bart Baker. “Ali feels that it’s right, but she’s afraid. She ends up trusting and I think that’s what you take away from it. Just trust in your gut. Listen to your heart. Listen to your gut and communicate. Communicate with someone and there are second chances. They’re out there.”

How to watch ‘When I Said I Do’

In addition to debuting on Lifetime on May 23, When I Said I Do will also air on May 24 at 6 p.m. EST and the same time on May 30. It will also be available on VOD/Streaming platforms including Hulu, Dish, Verizon, Comcast, DirectTV, Philo, Sling +, as well as the MyLifetime.com and the Lifetime app. It will also be available for purchase on Amazon and Apple. 

Clint and Lisa Hartman Black serve as executive producers and also star as themselves. In the movie, they host a podcast where Shawn calls in seeking advice on putting things right in his former relationship and moving forward with Ali.

“We had written the dialogue for Clint and Lisa, and I sent it to them to look at,” recalls Adam Reed. “They were looking at it very closely and when I tell you that every word mattered to them, every word mattered and it was incredible. Clint is a poet. Every word of his songs matters and every word of the script matters. So if you really look at the script, you see the highs, the lows, the comedy, the tension, the drama, that’s because the two of them were due diligent in finding those moments and made sure they hit.”

This isn’t the first time the couple have appeared together on screen. They worked together in the 1999 TV movie Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack and in the 2012 family drama Flicka: Country Pride.

“It’s weird and wonderful,” Lisa says of acting with Clint. “We both know each other so well, obviously. And when you’re acting with someone you don’t know or you casually know, it’s different. We all have secrets as actors. We all have little tools that we use. And there’s something about working with your spouse because they know you inside and out. There’s the beauty of being with someone that you trust.”

Secret to Lisa Hartman Black and Clint Black’s relationship

On screen and off, Clint and Lisa have long had a successful partnership. Married for 35 years, the couple reside in Nashville and have one daughter, Lily Pearl.

When asked what makes their relationship work, Lisa says, “We always say communication. And we go back to Roy Rogers saying to both of us, ‘Never go to bed angry.’ We both believe in talking things through, being honest with each other, trusting each other and knowing that when you’re with someone, you trust someone, if something happens that hurts your feelings or makes you feel uncomfortable or whatever it is, you have to explain what it is. So it gives them a chance to explain what happened, what they meant. It’s really about trust and communication and just being honest with each other and telling someone how you really feel. It sounds so simple, but it can be and that’s really basically the foundation of it all.”

Trust and communication are central themes in When I Said I Do, and Lisa is excited for viewers to tune into Lifetime this weekend. The Texas native still marvels at the fact that their very special song has become a movie. “People ask, ‘Did you ever think your song would be in a movie?’ And of course, no. We just did it and were hoping people love it.”

 “That song is about never giving up,” Adam says. “It was the North Star. It is a song and a movie about perseverance, about never giving up. Whether it’s marriage, relationships or life in general, there’s going to be times you cry, times you laugh, times you are tortured, angry and frustrated, but through it all, don’t give up. I hope that message came through in the movie.”