ADVERTISEMENT

AOL Radio

Listen to AOL Radio Now
play arrow
Top Country - Today's Hottest Hits
Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts
play arrow
'90s Country - '90s Biggest Hits
Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Strait
play arrow
New Country First - Today's new country hits
Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Sugarland
Online Radio Guide

Exclusive Interviews

Chats with your favorite country stars.

Exclusive Performances

Watch live, in-studio performances.

Blogroll

Danny Gokey Is Engaged!

Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images

Danny Gokey has found love again. The 'American Idol' alum has announced his engagement to Leyicet Peralta, whom he plans to marry in late January.

Danny lost his first wife three years ago. Sophia Gokey died after complications from surgery to treat her congenital heart disease. The singer opened Sophia's Heart Foundation in her honor, a non-profit organization that offers housing for homeless families, GED tutoring, job counseling and life coaching. The facility also has a variety of after-school music and arts programs for children.

"Our vision at Sophia's Heart includes programs to house and restore the lives of the economically challenged and families that have been displaced from their homes due to unfortunate circumstances," Danny told The Boot at the grand opening of the Nashville facility. "This might include children and families who have been touched by poverty, sickness, disease, broken families and broken dreams ... Our goal is to not just provide them housing but give them programs that help them to return as a viable part of the community."

Leyicet shares her fiancé's commitment to helping families in need. "It was the most beautiful thing. She came up to me after we got engaged and took me aside and said, 'Listen, I don't want any gifts for our wedding,'" Danny recalls to FOX News. "My ears kinda perked up, and she said, 'I want them to give toward the organization in honor of us.' It's her desire, too, to help homeless families and to see kids who don't have a lot of opportunities to be given the opportunity. She feels our wedding could be significant in helping all these people. My heart was touched when she did that, because you have to have someone strong in partnership with you to make an organization like this flourish."

The couple shared their engagement news on the Sophia's Heart Foundation website, with a note to fans and friends: "We are thankful for so many of the blessings God has given us. It is our desire to see homeless children and families be kept together and lifted back on their feet through the help of Sophia's Heart. We love and appreciate you all."

Click here to make a donation to Sophia's Heart as a wedding gift to Danny and Leyicet, and to send a personal note to the happy couple.

All the Danny Gokey info you want to know

Danny Gokey Baby News: Singer and Wife…

The Boot

Sophia's Heart Foundation Congrats to Danny Gokey and wife Leyicet on the…

Danny Gokey Baby News: Newlyweds to…

The Boot

Sophia's Heart Foundation Congrats to Danny Gokey and his wife Leyicet, who…

Danny Gokey Wedding Video: 'Idol' Alum…

The Boot

YouTube Danny Gokey has been notoriously accessible to his fans since…

See all Danny Gokey »

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

44 Comments

Filter by:
Baby

Hey, I met a man who are 6'3" on a dating SITE-- Tal l H’U‘B. c○ m --.while， I am only 5'6" and I love tall guys. He said to me that tall girls on that site are seeking fun

with tall guys...Are you tall and like tall people, if so, go and check here~

January 04 2012 at 1:46 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cheer

i am a beautiful and tall girl, just wanna to make more friends, recently I joined a amazing site.. . Tal l h u b. С'⊙M...It is a person'als place where you can meet
successful and tall men or wowen for marriage, or just meet beautiful friends and singles。hifdgvjifo

December 29 2011 at 9:48 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
Rick

who is this guy? never heard of him

December 28 2011 at 5:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sunspotbaby2U

i knew when i first saw Danny on American Idol that he was the real deal.. What a class act. Congratulations.. and i'm glad he found love again..

December 27 2011 at 9:26 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
advas58

Yay. I am so happy for him that he was able to find true love again. God bless for Sophia's Heart Foundation.It's wonderful that his fiancee thought of donating their wedding gift money to his charity. May they have a long happy marriage.

December 27 2011 at 7:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Robin

(I seem to have lost my reply to nytowl09, apologies if this turns out to be a duplicate post).

I have a different point of view on that. I think that Leyicet's desire to have people support Sophia's Heart rather than give them wedding gifts is a great gesture of respect toward Sophia's memory, and it demonstrates in a very tangible way that this work that is so important to Danny is important to her too. I was very happy when I heard that she had made this request and I very much disagree that she is trying to overshadow Sophia and the foundation. I think it's wonderful that with this gesture she is demonstrating that she is joining Danny in commitment to Sophia's Heart. I do agree with you that Danny is an awesome guy and a great singer. He had and lost a great love in Sophia, and he must have wondered at times if he could every find happiness again. I'm so very glad for him that he has.

December 27 2011 at 7:00 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
here2shine

I'm happy your heart has found love again, Danny -- you clearly have a lot of love to give. Your voice sounds really outstanding on "Say goodbye" and I can't understand why you are not being played and heard everywhere. God bless you forever. From one of your biggest fans, Mel White (www.smilingheartmusic.com)

December 27 2011 at 6:59 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
nonucantmakemee

good luck to you danny i hope all turns out well for you

December 27 2011 at 6:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nytowl09

Danny is an awesome guy and a great singer. It is great that he started the Sophia Foundation in honor of his wife who has passed...and the honor should be honoring her and the people that it helps. The NEW wife doesn't need to overshadow that honor...it looks like she is doing that and should step to the side with that...the way it is written is the NEW wife the hero.. she is overshadowing the foundation and the wife's memory...just sayin

December 27 2011 at 6:27 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to nytowl09's comment
Robin

I have a different point of view on that. I think that Leyicet's desire to have people support Sophia's Heart rather than give them wedding gifts is a great gesture of respect toward Sophia's memory, and it demonstrates in a very tangible way that this work that is so important to Danny is important to her too. I was very happy when I heard that she had made this request and I very much disagree that she is trying to overshadow Sophia and the foundation. I think it's wonderful that with this gesture she is demonstrating that she is joining Danny in commitment to Sophia's Heart. I do agree with you that Danny is an awesome guy and a great singer. He had and lost a great love in Sophia, and he must have wondered at times if he could every find happiness again. I'm so very glad for him that he has.

December 27 2011 at 6:43 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
pumpkinlacey

I do agree the way it is written it kind of seems that way; it may have been nicer to just say the couple asks for donations to the foundation (which is a very common practice for celeb weddings, funerals, etc) IF anyone was thinking of a gift in the first place.
I too, wish they would have perhaps spoken more about the extraordinary woman who the foundation is in honor of and who was the one who actually made Danny try out for American Idol. She devoted herself to charity her WHOLE short life and her love for children shown. She seems an afterthought in the PR statement, in my opinion also.
But I don't think it is the fiancee's 'fault' or desire to overshadow- it is just how the PR people have presented it.
Good luck Danny, you deserve to be happy.

December 27 2011 at 8:33 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
Robin

Most viewers of American Idol are just normal everyday people, but on the internet there's a subset that seem to make a game of seeing just how offensive and hateful they can be to the fans of competition against "their" idol. I am not sure if they are mentally ill or compensating for feeling powerless in their own lives, but it is a sad thing to see.

But on to Danny's news! I think he is a truly extraordinary person with his talent and his heart for helping others, and I am so happy that he has found happiness again with someone who shares his vision. I wish Danny and Leyicet a lifetime of blessings together.

December 27 2011 at 6:22 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply

Your Settings

{email}

Subscriptions

Weekly Newsletter

The Boot news in your mailbox. Top Articles, reviews, photos & more.

Realtime alerts

Daily alerts


Update
Cancel