Country hitmaker Thomas Rhett attended the 55th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday evening sans wife, Lauren Akins. Instead, the “Slow Down Summer” singer had another special woman in his life by his side: his mom, Paige Lankford.
With Lauren at home close to giving birth to their fourth daughter, Rhett took his mom to the show as they eagerly await their daughter’s arrival.
.@ThomasRhett can’t wait for the birth of his fourth child! #CMAawards pic.twitter.com/JzaAb3bKOC
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) November 11, 2021
“Literally, I’m just waiting on a phone call,” he told Entertainment Tonight ahead of the show, referring to the chance that Lauren may go into labor. “It literally could happen tonight, it could happen tomorrow, who knows?”
“So we’re just gonna keep going until we have to go to the hospital,” he continued.
Lauren was at home watching the CMA Awards with daughters Willa, 6, Ada, 4, and Lennon, 1.
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Rhett proudly shared a photo with his mom on Wednesday evening, captioning the backstage photo: “My beautiful date tonight! MOM!!”
Pregnant Lauren Akins gushed over her mother-in-law in the comments section, writing, “CANNOT EVEN HANDLE YOU.”
.@ThomasRhett reminding us all how good it feels to be country again 👏🎵 #CMAawards @CountryMusic pic.twitter.com/5vC1nd5i1a
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) November 11, 2021
During the show, Rhett took the stage to perform his chart-topping hit, “Country Again.”
The singer/songwriter shared a bit of a stripped-down version of the song, which became his 18th No.1 hit earlier this year.
“This song is so special to me, because every line really is autobiographical,” Thomas Rhett shared in a statement. “But it’s also a song about centering yourself and reconnecting with the things that are truly important to you; which is different for all of us. Being able to share this song with fans each night on the road finally and seeing how it’s resonating with them is something I will never take for granted.”
Click above to re-live a snippet of his performance.
