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Thomas Rhett: Dating His Wife In High School Was ‘So Ridiculous’

Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren, have been married for over ten years. The couple, with their four daughters in tow, is the picture of pure happiness. They often post…

Thomas Rhett: Dating His Wife In High School Was 'So Ridiculous'
Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren, have been married for over ten years. The couple, with their four daughters in tow, is the picture of pure happiness. They often post about their love for each other on social media and always share updates on their daughters: Willa Gray, 7; Ada James, 5; Lennon Love, 3; and Lillie Carolina, 1.

It's well known that Thomas and Lauren have known each other since the second grade and have been dating off and on since they were teenagers. I've chatted with Thomas many times about the love of his life, Lauren, and he has told me many things over the years. The couple broke up many times before they were married in 2012, the same year Rhett started to make a name for himself in country music.

A few years back, when Thomas was enjoying the success of his break-up song "Crash and Burn" (written by Chris Stapleton), he told me about the couple's early ups and downs: "Oh, my wife, we dated in high school a little bit. When we dated in high school, it was so ridiculous. I think she broke up with me like maybe seven times over the course of a year."

He added, "We were like freshmen in high school, and I was just one of those guys that kept goin' back, and just kept goin' back, and really just wanted to date her and me not getting the hint. So, I definitely crashed and burned with my wife, and now we are alive and well, which is good."

Thomas is busy on the road this summer as his "Home Team Tour" continues to sell out shows across the country, with recent capacity crowds in Peoria, Albany, Buffalo, Wilkes-Barre, Boston, Grand Rapids, Lafayette, Belmont Park, St. Paul, Chicago, and more.

Remaining "Home Team Tour 23" Dates Include:

8/3/2023 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
8/4/2023 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
8/5/2023 - Austin, TX - Moody Center
8/17/2023 - Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center
8/18/2023 - Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena
8/19/2023 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
9/14/2023 - Estero, FL - Hertz Arena
9/15/2023 - Jacksonville, FL - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
9/16/2023 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center
9/21/2023 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena
9/22/2023 - State College, PA - Bryce Jordan Center
9/23/2023 - Toledo, OH - Huntington Center
9/28/2023 - Birmingham, AL - The Legacy Arena at The BJCC
9/29/2023 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
9/30/2023 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena

Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren have four daughters who are all under kindergarten age, and according to Thomas, the couple is going to hit "pause" on having more kids for now.

He told CMT recently, “I think Lauren and I were really honest with each other and were like, ’Let’s take a pause for four or five years and kind of get the hang of what this is going to look like.'”

Rhett did say that the couple's oldest daughter Willie Gray, who is six and was adopted, talks about adoption all the time. He offered, “Adoption is 100 percent on our brains in the next four to five years. We would love to do that. It’s been put on our hearts very heavily to do that again; we just don’t know when.”

Thomas also said not too long ago that he wants a big family, but added, “We’ll see what happens.”

We take a look at the many red carpet photos the couple has taken over the years and note how many of them show a pregnant Lauren.

2013 ACM Awards

GettyImages-165978449-scaled.jpgJason Merritt/Getty Image

Thomas Rhett (R) and Lauren Akins arrive at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 7, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.


2017 CMT Music Awards - Arrivals

GettyImages-693580392-scaled.jpgMichael Loccisano/Getty Images

Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Akins attend the 2017 CMT Music Awards at the Music City Center on June 7, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.


2016 CMT Music Awards - Arrivals

GettyImages-538841952-scaled.jpgMike Coppola/Getty Images

Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Gregory attends the 2016 CMT Music awards at the Bridgestone Arena on June 8, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee.


2016 Billboard Music Awards - Arrivals

GettyImages-533542254-scaled.jpgDavid Becker/Getty Images

Thomas Rhett (L) and Lauren Gregory Akins attend the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.


2019 American Music Awards - Red Carpet

GettyImages-1189824377-scaled.jpgMatt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins attend the 2019 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 24, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.


2018 Roc Nation THE BRUNCH - Red Carpet

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Lauren Akins and Thomas Rhett attend Roc Nation THE BRUNCH at One World Observatory on January 27, 2018 in New York City.


2019 CMT Artists of the Year - Arrivals

GettyImages-1181542589-scaled.jpgTerry Wyatt/Getty Images

Honoree Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins attend the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on October 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.


The 54th Annual CMA Awards - Arrivals

GettyImages-1285571122-1-scaled.jpgJason Kempin/Getty Images

Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins attend the 54th annual CMA Awards at the Music City Center on November 11, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee.


60th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals

GettyImages-911504614-scaled.jpgJamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Lauren Akins (L) and reecording artist Thomas Rhett attend the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City.


The 53rd Annual CMA Awards - Arrivals

GettyImages-1187486442-scaled.jpgJason Kempin/Getty Images

Willa Gray Akins, Thomas Rhett, Ada James Akins and Lauren Akins attend the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Music City Center on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.