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Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, have long been known for their sweet love story and their family life.
The country singer-songwriter met his wife in first grade. Though they dated briefly in high school, it wasn’t until their early 20s that they remained together, and ultimately tied the knot in October 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. Since then, Rhett and Akins have welcomed four young daughters together. They adopted Willa Gray, 8, from Uganda in 2017. Ada James, 7, Lennon Love, 4, and Lillie Carolina, 2, have since followed.
Rhett recently spoke about his relationship with his wife, the challenges of balancing family life and his career, the possibility of growing their family again, and more in an interview with Us Weekly. When asked whether he and Akins want more kids, Rhett said “we’re both really happy with four. Lillie’s starting school, so we’ve been like giddy little kids saying, ‘What are we going to do with eight hours a day, three days a week?’ But it wouldn’t be shocking if a fifth [came along] in the next three or four years.” He added that if he could go back in time to give himself a word of advice when he first became a dad, his advice would be “to cherish it. It’s easy to wish away the hard years. [Lauren] calls them the ‘wiping years’ — wiping tears, wiping floors, wiping butts, all of that. I’ve been a dad long enough to know how fast it goes. One day my problems with my kids are going to be a lot different than not wanting to eat broccoli. I’m learning how to live in these moments.”
The interview arrives days before Rhett releases his seventh studio album, About A Woman, serving as a tribute to Akins. The 14-track album includes “After All The Bars Are Closed,” “Beautiful As You,” “Gone Country” and “Overdrive.” It arrives on August 23.
“From top to bottom, I wanted to exude joy and fun with this project – and really just make people move,” Rhett said as he announced new details about his album in early June. “I went into making this record with a fearless attitude, put my blinders on and my head down to try and make really fun music. …I feel like if you were to ask me what this record is about, the answer would be it’s about one woman, my wife, and it gave me an opportunity to say ‘I love you’ in a lot of different ways.”
Rhett recently surprised an intimate audience in Nashville, Tennessee, following an album preview hosted by iHeartRadio’s Wayne D. Listen to Rhett’s exclusive performance and Q&A session with Bobby Bones by tuning into the iHeartCountry Album Release Party with Thomas Rhett. it will be broadcast on iHeartCountry stations at 7 p.m. local time on Friday, August 23, in celebration of Rhett’s album release. Fans can tune in to their local iHeartRadio stations for more information on preview parties and chances to win exclusive experiences from their favorite artists, per a previously-issued press release.
Rhett is one of many artists taking the stage at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, returning to the T-Mobile Arena stage on September 20 and 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Other artists in the genre-spanning lineup include Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboozey, The Black Crowes, Victoria Monét, and more. Ryan Seacrest will host the two-day festival. Tickets are available to the general public now on AXS.com.