Country singer Thomas Rhett’s wife Lauren Akins opens up about why she “loathed” him early in their marriage and how she felt like she was “drowning” as their family grew.
In a video shared on YouTube by I am second Titled Lauren Akins – This Wasn’t The Plan, the 34-year-old highlighted the struggles she and Thomas, also 34, faced in their relationship as he traveled the world.
She admitted that the couple had reached a breaking point at the height of her husband’s career, adding that she eventually “hated” him for pursuing his dreams while she was at home looking after their children.
Lauren, who married the Unforgettable hitmaker in 2012, explained that their romance hit a snag when they decided to adopt their eldest daughter, Willa Gray.
Shortly after the couple began the adoption process, Lauren became pregnant while her husband was selling out arenas, leaving her with one child and having to bring the second into the world alone.
Country star Thomas Rhett’s wife Lauren (seen in 2022) has opened up about why she “loathed” him early in their marriage and how she felt like she was “drowning” as their family grew
She explained that Thomas’ career quickly took off and she decided to tour with him.
But she soon felt like she had given up on her dream of becoming a nurse.
“I realized pretty early on that I wasn’t going to be a working nurse in a hospital, and so I started talking to my husband about it,” she said.
“It’s just like, ‘I know this is what you’re after, but I’ll be honest, I really didn’t think it was going to work out and I thought I was going to be a nurse and this is how our lives would go.’”
“And that’s just not the plan that God had. I want to support you, but I feel like I have to kind of find my own path in this as well.”
Shortly after, she decided to go on a medical mission trip to Haiti, where she met Willa.
Lauren remembers calling her husband and telling him she felt “called to help her find her permanent home.”
Thomas replied, “We will.”
In a video shared by I Am Second on YouTube titled Lauren Akins – This Wasn’t The Plan, the 34-year-old lifted the lid on the issues she and Thomas, 34, faced in their relationship
She admitted the couple reached a breaking point at the height of her husband’s career – adding that she ultimately ‘hated’ him for pursuing his dreams
Lauren explained that their romance went dark when they decided to adopt their eldest daughter, Willa Gray (Lauren was seen with Willa when she was five months old)
The lovebirds adopted Willa in 2017, after Lauren herself went through an “intensive” 13-month adoption process while Thomas was on tour.
The situation became even more stressful when Lauren discovered she was pregnant and started vomiting several times a day.
She confessed: ‘I felt nauseous and threw up about 50 times a day.
“I missed my husband all the time. I started to hate him a little bit because he was back in America touring.”
Lauren returned to the US and her parents went to Haiti to bring Willa home. Three months after welcoming Willa into their home, Lauren gave birth to their second daughter, Ada.
“It felt like we went from zero to two very quickly as parents,” she said, before explaining that she and the children had decided to join Thomas on tour.
But it seemed that being on the road only made their problems worse.
Lauren admitted, “His life went on, and I felt like mine stopped. And I felt like we weren’t in it together anymore.
“I feel like there was a lot of miscommunication, there was a lot of resentment that I was holding on to, even during the adoption and after. I just reached a breaking point. I didn’t like him and I resented him.”
Shortly after the couple began the adoption process, Lauren became pregnant — leaving her carrying one child and struggling to bring another child home alone (seen in 2019)
She explained that Thomas’ career took off early in their marriage and she decided to tour with him (the couple they knew when they were younger).
The situation became even more stressful when Lauren discovered she was pregnant and started vomiting several times a day
The lovebirds felt their marriage falling apart and decided to undergo an ‘intensive therapy session’, where they ‘shared everything’ and decided to ‘start over’.
In 2020, they welcomed their third daughter, Lennon Love, and in 2021, their fourth child, Lillie Carolina.
After giving birth to Lillie, Lauren admitted she suffered from severe ‘postpartum depression’.
She admitted she felt like she was “drowning” and stayed in bed for “months” while Thomas looked after the children.
Lauren shared that she finally got better after going to the gym regularly and praying. She also said that she was so thankful for all four of her children.
Lauren said she finally got better after consistent gym attendance and prayer, adding that she was so thankful for all four of her children.
In the past, Thomas has talked about his family and how the couple decided to raise their children with Squire.
He said, “Our lives are anything but normal… my main goal is to find ways to normalize their lives so that there is never a sense of, ‘I deserve X.’”
The songwriter also indicated that he and his wife took after their own parents in raising their daughters.
“We had great parents who set the example of what it looks like to be a good mother and a good father — but not a wimp. It’s easy to get ripped off by your child. Really easy,” he said.