Thomas Rhett‘s priorities have shifted substantially in the last decade. The singer-songwriter released his debut album, It Goes Like This, in 2013, one year after he married his wife, Lauren Akins. At the time, Rhett was willing to work however many hours he needed to, in order to make his dreams of finding success in country music a reality.
Now, with several hit albums and No. 1 songs to his credit, the success takes a sometimes distant backseat to what matters to him most in life: his wife and his four daughters.
“The last couple years to me was more of a rearranging of priority, if you will,” Rhett tells BMLG. “Not that certain things aren’t still important, but I think I put so much stock in just winning at all costs. And when you look back at what it did cost you, it cost you time away. Now that my family is so big, that is the number one. There is nothing that trumps that.”
Not that Rhett is not still focused on music. The 32-year-old still wants to be the best he can be, but he is no longer willing to give up everything to make that happen. It’s a revelation that Rhett admits might not have ever happened, if not for the time off of the road because of the pandemic.
“I think for me it was like, ‘How can I be excellent at this, and excellent at this, and excellent at this?'” he reflects. “And to me, it’s just finding those moments of like, ‘Okay, today I’m in a music brain, and today I will give music everything that I have. Today I’m in dad brain and I will give [being a dad] everything that I have.’ If it weren’t for the last couple years, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to realize some of that stuff.”
Rhett might not have as much free time now that he is the father of four, but he loves every part of having a large family.
“I keep telling people it’s just complete chaos, but it’s the kind of chaos that you dream about,” Rhett tells People. “We’re just trucking through and doing the best job that we can to be parents and raising these girls right.”
It might not be easy, but Rhett also tries to spend time with each daughter individually, following in the footsteps of his father, songwriter Rhett Akins.
“I love just diving into their hobbies with them because that’s what my dad with me,” says the singer. “It’s a new hobby every week — we’re starting to ride horses now.”
Rhett just celebrated his 20th No.1 hit with “Half of Me,” his collaboration with Riley Green. He recently released “Where We Started,” his duet with Katy Perry. Rhett will embark on his Home Team Tour 23 in May, with Cole Swindell and Nate Smith serving as his opening acts. Find music and tour dates at ThomasRhett.com.
