Lauren Akins and Thomas Rhett at the 52nd annual CMA Awards.
At the 2018 CMA Awards, Thomas Rhett sang his single “Life Changes,” stopping in the audience to hug his wife, Lauren Akins. In the song, he references fatherhood, and the journey he and Lauren took to become parents:
I remember the day I told my Daddy and Mama you’re gonna have a grandkid, yep
From Uganda, that’s right, we’re adopting
And she is the cutest little girl that you’ve ever seen
Well I was wrapping my head around being a dad
A bigger wrench got thrown in the plans we thought we’d had
Now Lauren’s showin’, got one on the way
Yeah that’s two under two, hey, what can I say?
The couple are childhood sweethearts, and met in first grade; they were married in 2012. After wanting a child but struggling to conceive, the couple decided to adopt. People revealed that it took them almost a year of flying back and forth between Uganda and Nashville before their adoption papers for their daughter, Willa Gray, were approved. During that year, Lauren surprisingly became pregnant. Once they were able to bring Willa home, Lauren was six months pregnant with their daughter, Ada James.
The two went from having no children, to having two young daughters, in a very short period of time. According to People, however, Lauren says “The blessings around us are incredible. We feel like it’s all part of the plan.”