For a time, Kaynette Williams was standing beside Blake Shelton while the country singer was still building the career that would eventually make him a household name. They had known each other since their Oklahoma years, married in 2003 and shared the early part of Shelton’s rise before their relationship ended in 2006.
What happened afterward is arguably the more revealing part of Kaynette Williams’ story.
While Shelton went on to highly publicized relationships with Miranda Lambert and later Gwen Stefani, Williams largely stepped away from celebrity culture. Under the name Kaynette Scheck, she built a career in education, eventually moving from the classroom into school administration. Today, the most current public records place her as an elementary-school principal in Kansas. (South Barber)
Who Is Kaynette Williams?
Kaynette Williams is best known because of her first marriage to Blake Shelton, but she was part of his life before his television fame and much of the celebrity attention that followed.
Contemporary reporting from Country Weekly shows that Williams and Shelton came from the same small Oklahoma community and had known one another for years before they married. In a January 2004 interview, Williams recalled meeting Shelton when he was 15 and said they eventually began dating years later. Shelton, meanwhile, described her as someone he knew was right for him when they married. (Shefani Archive)
Her connection to Shelton was not purely romantic. Multiple accounts also describe Williams as having helped with his early career, including work connected to the road while he was establishing himself in Nashville. (South China Morning Post)
Kaynette Williams and Blake Shelton’s Marriage
Shelton and Williams married on November 17, 2003, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, during a break in Shelton’s touring schedule with Toby Keith. Their wedding was intentionally small. Country Weekly reported that only the couple, the officiant and a photographer were present. (Shefani Archive)
The marriage came at an important moment in Shelton’s career. His debut album had already arrived, and “Austin” had established him as a country newcomer worth watching. In 2004, the couple were still appearing together publicly, including at country-music events. (Shefani Archive)
But the relationship would not last.
Shelton and Williams divorced in 2006. Public coverage of the breakup has included different descriptions of the legal filing, but one widely reported account says a filing cited “inappropriate marital conduct.” That allegation should not be confused with a proven finding of misconduct. Shelton later gave his own retrospective explanation, saying he did not think he had been ready to be a husband and describing the marriage as having been the wrong relationship for him. (South China Morning Post)
The circumstances became more complicated in public memory because Shelton met Miranda Lambert while he was still married to Williams. Shelton later acknowledged that he developed feelings for Lambert during their 2005 performance together. However, claims about exactly when a romantic relationship began have varied, so it is safer not to turn later speculation into a definitive account of the divorce. (Fox News)
Life After Blake Shelton Took a Different Direction
After the divorce, Williams’ public story became much quieter.
Reports place her back in Oklahoma for a period before she ultimately established herself in Kansas. Her later career is much better documented than many of the personal details frequently repeated on celebrity websites.
In 2018, the Alva Review-Courier reported that Kaynette Scheck was a fourth-grade teacher at South Barber Elementary School in Kiowa, Kansas, and had been working in education for 15 years. Her colleagues selected her as South Barber Elementary Teacher of the Year. The article also highlighted her focus on helping students develop confidence in their abilities. (Alva Review-Courier)
That recognition matters because it was unrelated to her former celebrity marriage. It was an achievement within her own profession.
From Teacher to School Principal
Williams’ education career did not stop with teaching.
By 2019, local reporting identified Kaynette Scheck as South Barber’s elementary assistant principal while she continued teaching. In 2020, she was described as both an assistant principal and fourth-grade teacher. (Alva Review-Courier)
She also pursued additional education and leadership training. Local reporting from 2022 stated that she had a bachelor’s degree in K–6 education with a mathematics endorsement, an ESL certification and a master’s degree in education administration focused on building-principal leadership.
That preparation eventually led to the next stage of her career.
In May 2022, the South Barber USD 255 school board voted to hire Scheck as the school’s full-time elementary principal. At the time, she had already taught elementary school for 16 years and had spent several years working as both a teacher and assistant principal. (Alva Review-Courier)
Kaynette Williams’ New Husband: Who Is Cody Scheck?
Kaynette Williams later remarried Cody Scheck, a rodeo competitor associated with steer roping. Unlike her marriage to Shelton, her relationship with Scheck has remained largely outside mainstream celebrity coverage.
A local profile reported that the couple had been married for roughly three and a half years at the time of the 2018 story, placing the marriage at around 2015. The exact wedding date has not been firmly established by a high-quality primary source, so it is better to describe 2015 as an approximate timeframe rather than a confirmed wedding date. (Prime Daily Topics)
Does Kaynette Williams Have Children?
This is one area where online biographies often sound more certain than the evidence allows.
There are websites that state Williams has no children, but reliable public reporting does not clearly establish whether she has children. Because she has kept her private life away from celebrity media, the most accurate wording is that no children have been publicly confirmed through strong, reliable sources. (News Vanta)
That distinction is important: an absence of public information is not the same as proof that someone has no children.
Kaynette Williams Age
Many online biography sites list Kaynette Williams’ date of birth as February 20, 1973, which would make her 53 years old as of September 15, 2026. However, I did not find an authoritative primary source independently confirming that exact birth date. Therefore, her age should be presented as widely reported rather than fully verified. (Famous Birthdays)
Where Is Kaynette Williams Now?
This is where the most important update appears.
South Barber USD 255’s current official website lists Kaynette Scheck as principal of its PreK–6 school in Kiowa, Kansas. The school’s current staff page confirms the same position. (South Barber)
Her position has also continued to appear in local reporting. In January 2025, the school board renewed her contract for the 2025–26 school year, describing her as elementary principal. A later local report in March 2026 still identified her as South Barber Elementary principal. (Alva Review-Courier)
So while older celebrity profiles may still describe her simply as a teacher, that is no longer the most accurate description of her professional role.
As for exactly where she lives, her private residence is not clearly established by reliable public sources. Professionally, however, her documented connection is to South Barber Elementary in Kiowa, Kansas. (South Barber)
What Is Kaynette Williams’ Net Worth?
There is no reliably verified public figure for Kaynette Williams’ net worth.
Celebrity sites commonly publish estimates in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but these numbers are generally not supported by financial disclosures, verified property records or statements from Williams herself. It would therefore be misleading to present a figure such as $600,000 or $900,000 as established fact. (5e Magazine)
Her documented professional story is much clearer: years in education, recognition as a teacher, additional qualifications and eventually a school leadership position.
A Timeline of Kaynette Williams’ Life
2003: Marries Blake Shelton in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. (Shefani Archive)
2005: Appears publicly with Shelton at country-music events before their marriage ends.
2006: Shelton and Williams divorce. (Los Angeles Times)
2015, approximately: Later reporting indicates Williams and Cody Scheck were married by this period. (Prime Daily Topics)
2018: Scheck is named South Barber Elementary Teacher of the Year. (Alva Review-Courier)
2019–2020: Moves into assistant-principal duties while continuing in education. (Alva Review-Courier)
2022: Hired as full-time elementary principal at South Barber. (Alva Review-Courier)
2025–2026: Her principal contract is renewed, and the school’s current website continues to list her as principal. (Alva Review-Courier)
Kaynette Williams’ public identity began with Blake Shelton, but it did not end with him.
She was his first wife during an early chapter of his country career, and their 2006 divorce later became part of the story surrounding Shelton’s relationships with Miranda Lambert and Gwen Stefani. Yet Williams took a markedly different path afterward.
Under the name Kaynette Scheck, she built a long career in education, earned professional recognition, moved into school administration and ultimately became an elementary-school principal. The latest available official and local records show that she remains in that role in Kiowa, Kansas, making her career in education the clearest picture of who Kaynette Williams is today. (South Barber)
Sources:
- https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3296543/who-blake-sheltons-first-wife-kaynette-williams-gwen-stefani-came-along-country-star-married-his
- https://nicole-barker-2fh2.squarespace.com/blake-shelton-interviews/2019/4/13/country-weekly-jan-6th-2004
- https://www.alvareviewcourier.com/story/2018/11/21/local/kaynette-scheck-selected-for-south-barber-elementary-teacher-of-the-year/44390.html
- https://www.alvareviewcourier.com/author/yvonne_miller/951
- https://www.alvareviewcourier.com/story/2022/05/11/local/kaynette-scheck-hired-as-full-time-elementary-principal-at-south-barber/77883.html
- https://www.alvareviewcourier.com/story/2025/01/15/local/south-barber-school-board-renews-superintendent-and-principals-contracts-for-2025-26/91892.html
- https://www.southbarber.com/prek-6
- https://www.southbarber.com/prek-6/staff
- https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/blake-shelton-from-small-town-oklahoma-boy-to-country-superstar
- https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-blake-shelton-miranda-lambert-divorce-split-rumors-20150721-story.html
- https://www.mensjournal.com/travel/blake-shelton-natural-born-hell-raiser-20130711
- https://www.countrythangdaily.com/what-really-happened-between-blake-shelton-and-his-first-wife-kaynette-williams/
- https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/kaynette-williams.html
- https://primedailytopics.com/kaynette-williams/
- https://newsvanta.co.uk/kaynette-williams/
