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Marriage On Ice?

The REAL Reason Carrie Underwood's Husband Mike Fisher Retired

Find out why the hockey pro hung up his skates.

When Carrie 
Underwood’s ­husband, Nashville Predators pro-hockey star MikeFisher, ­announced his ­retirement on Aug. 3, you could feel the ­emotion — and how torn he was — about leaving the sport he loved after 17 years. “This is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make,” he wrote in a moving farewell letter to fans. “I kept praying for peace about the next step in my life… a peace that said whether or not this was the right time to walk away.” As it turns out, it was Carrie who made sure Mike understood it was the right time — and she had a good reason.
After Mike’s announcement, Carrie took to Instagram to say that she and their 2-year-old son, Isaiah, are “so excited to be able to have you home a lot more.” But her cheerful words masked the reality that the couple’s seven-year marriage has reportedly been on thin ice, claims a source, who adds, “Carrie urged Mike in no uncertain terms to hang up his skates, in a dramatic attempt to get more together time to mend their troubled relationship.” The source tells Star that the pop-country superstar had another motive — she wants to expand their family and have another child! “Between their careers, Carrie and Mike have basically been living separate lives, and I heard that she had become really unhappy with the situation,” the source claims. “Having Mike home now will be one solution — and I believe she hopes that having another baby together will bring them even closer than when they first fell in love.”
desperate times
For Carrie, Mike’s retirement didn’t come a moment too soon. His grueling hockey schedule “left her feeling like a sports widow, and she was just so lonely raising Isaiah on her own,” an insider claims. “They had wicked fights on the phone when he was on the road. And I’m sure the fact that pro athletes are notorious for hooking up with groupies must have weighed heavily on her mind. Carrie’s a devout Christian who takes her vows ­seriously; she must’ve been miserable over what their marriage had become.”
Resentments on both sides appear to have been simmering for a long time. The American Idol winner, 34, and the now former hockey hunk, 37, who wed in 2010, reportedly clashed early on  — ironically, over Carrie’s reluctance to start a family. The relationship took a hurtful turn in 2013, when rumors surfaced that she was having an affair with country crooner BradPaisley. “It seems like Carrie and Mike have had one ­marital setback after another,” adds the insider. “It reached a point where ­something had to give.”
MOVING FORWARD
When Carrie became pregnant with Isaiah in 2014, she and Mike ­reportedly bickered constantly over him not ­pitching in with household duties, a clash that left Carrie extremely ­embittered. But hopefully, the Nashville-based ­couple will be more in sync this time around with a new addition.
Adds the insider: “I heard Carrie has cleared her schedule and started ­taking folic acid to prepare her body for pregnancy. She’s been telling friends she’d love to have a little girl and hopes she’ll be expecting by Christmas. Now that Mike’s home for good, they can get ­started on reaffirming their love and making that dream come true.”