Thomas Rhett and Lauren Gregory Akins’ love story began when they were first-graders in Valdosta, Georgia. The pair were friends for several years, attended church camp together and even dated for a brief period while in high school.
Their first attempt at a relationship didn’t work out, so Thomas and Lauren ended up dating other people but remained close friends. During that time, they even came close to marrying other people. That’s when Lauren’s father intervened.
“Her dad called me and said, ‘If you don’t come over here tonight and tell Lauren how you feel about her, then I’m going to tell her how you feel about her,’” Rhett revealed to CBS This Morning.
They kissed and that sealed the deal for both of them. After six months of dating, Thomas proposed.
“My family and her family all went to this one restaurant called Giovanni’s. Me and Lauren are big on drinking wine and signing the bottles with a silver sharpie … dating them and putting them up in our house,” the singer shared with Taste of Country. “So I brought her upstairs to this room in Giovanni’s, and there was a bottle of wine sitting there. I pulled out a sharpie and put ‘Marry me’ on the bottle. Her mom cued ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ by Frank Sinatra and we danced. It was pretty awesome.”
Some people told them they were too young to get married, but in their hearts, Thomas and Lauren knew it was right.
“Everybody was telling us not to … but we just fell in love at a young age,” Rhett told People.
The couple said “I do” on October 12, 2012.
Lauren is the inspiration behind several of Rhett’s hit songs, most notably his six-week No.1 smash, “Die a Happy Man.”
Fans have fallen in love with the couple and often refer to them as #relationshipgoals. Lauren is practically a star in her own right as she’s racked up more than two million Instagram followers. (In 2020, she will expand her resume with the release of a book detailing her life and her relationship with Rhett.)
In early 2017, the pair took to social media to share the exciting news that they were expanding their family.
“We’re so happy to announce that we are pregnant & in the process of adopting a child from Africa,” Rhett wrote. “Safe to say life is about to get crazy!”
In May of that year, the proud parents introduced fans to their 18-month-old daughter, Willa Gray, who finally came home to Nashville after a year-long adoption process.
Baby Ada James was born just three months later.
“I can’t believe that we have two daughters,” an excited Rhett gushed upon her arrival.
Nearly two years later, Thomas and Lauren announced plans to expand their family once again. They took to Instagram to share the news and the baby’s gender once again.
“Excited to share that I will now be paying for 3 weddings,” Rhett wrote. “I feel so blessed to say that our third child is on the way and it’s a girl,” Rhett shared.
Their baby girl is expected to arrive in February 2020.
Even though baby No.3 isn’t here yet, the couple already has plans to add to their brood again in the future. Rhett recently shared that he hopes to have a “massive” family and that they hope to adopt once again.
The Akins family is currently in the process of moving to a larger home to accommodate their growing family.
