Thomas Rhett Fell In Love With Lauren Akins In Sixth Grade and Immediately Knew He Would Marry Her

Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren will soon celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary and as the big day inches near,…

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

October 7, 2020

4:40 pm

Thomas Rhett and Family

Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren will soon celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary and as the big day inches near, Rhett is taking a moment to reflect on their longtime relationship.

In a recent interview with his record label, the superstar recalled the moment he knew Lauren was “the one” and admitted he immediately derived a plan to marry her.

“It’s been a long time comin’ for sure,” Rhett says of their upcoming anniversary. “I mean, me and Lauren have definitely been to school together since we were in first grade but didn’t really know each other really well ‘til church camp about sixth grade. And I fell in love with her that day. I was like, there is not a prettier human being that exists in this world and I was like, ‘I will figure out a way to marry this woman one day.’”

His plan of marrying Lauren took a bit to come to fruition, however, as things didn’t quite work out the first go-around.

“We dated for a little bit in high school and then broke up for a very long time and got back together when we were about 21 years old,” he explains. “And now we’re about to celebrate eight years of marriage, so it’s been a pretty wild journey with her, but wouldn’t trade one minute of it, even the hard parts.”

Thomas and Lauren have been open about their decision to go to marriage counseling and Lauren recently detailed their journey in her new book, Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes. For Thomas, the decision to seek out help to strengthen their marriage was a no-brainer.

“When you find your soulmate, you just kinda do anything you can to stick to it, and for me to just be the best husband I can be.”

Thomas and Lauren will celebrate their eighth anniversary on October 12.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.