Thomas Rhett reveals his relationship with wife Lauren Akins – often described as an ideal marriage – nearly “imploded”.
“We became famous at the most difficult time in our personal lives,” the country star told Us Weekly. “Adopting [Willa Gray] and getting pregnant at the same time while having to stay in Uganda for a year and go back and forth was a real challenge.
In 2017, the couple announced that they were about to adopt an African child and that they were also pregnant. Under Ugandan law, the couple were required to foster the baby girl for a year in the East African country.
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Thomas Rhett admitted in a new interview that he and his wife Lauren were “internally imploding” as he rose to fame. The couple were also in the process of adopting and were pregnant. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA)
The road to parenthood has been exhausting.
“I’m not going to lie, there were many nights where I thought, ‘I don’t know if this document will ever get signed or if we’ll ever have this meeting.’ Prayer kept us going.”
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The couple flew between Uganda and the United States nearly a dozen times during the process.
“I was going to Uganda and becoming a husband and a father, and then I was going to America and I was like, ‘OK, shows and music.’ I was imploding inside, and so was Lauren. We were both at these breaking points. [feeling like] Something has to give. It was not a pleasant time in our marriage.
But the couple persevered.
Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren never gave up on their marriage. They got married at the age of 22. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)
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“Giving up was not an option,” Rhett said of the success of his marriage to Lauren, whom he has known since they were kids. “It never crossed my mind, or Lauren’s mind. Because I’m a fixer and Lauren is stubborn, we were able to make it work. The easiest thing to do is give up. But when you don’t and you keep fighting, you inevitably get stronger.”
“I’m so grateful that we had to go through this, because now we have a bag full of tools to use the next time something difficult happens. [happens]” explained the singer of “Die a Happy Man”.
“The easiest thing to do is to give up. But if you don’t and keep fighting, you will inevitably get stronger.”
Rhett, who married Lauren when they were both 22 in 2012, is proud to open up about his marital struggles and dispel the stigma that he and his wife are the perfect couple that social media users often portray them as.
Thomas Rhett and his wife have four daughters together. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
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“At 26, it was stressful to show anything other than ‘couple goals’ on Instagram. Now, there’s no pressure to pretend to be [something] “We’re not. We’re normal people who have to deal with the same problems as everyone else,” Rhett said.
“One of my favorite things to do is talk about how hard marriage is and how hard it is to be a father and raise kids to be good people,” he said of raising his four daughters: Willa Gray, 8, Ada James, 6, Lennon Love, 4, and Lillie Carolina, 2.
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Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren in 2019 before the couple welcomed their third daughter. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for dcp/Getty Images)
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“There are days that are easier than others, times of pure joy, and there are many more difficult days. I feel like I have some wisdom to share with the younger ones so they don’t make the same mistakes I did.”
Rhett says you have to be “totally honest at all costs” to get through a tough time. “Darkness can’t live where there’s light. As for young artists trying to decide, ‘Do I want to get married at 22? How will that affect my career?’ If that’s your person, marry them and own them. Make that person your centerpiece, because that’s your pillar for the rest of your life.”
