Look what God gave him! Thomas Rhett’s family has stolen hearts across the world since he hit the country music scene in 2012.
Born Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. in March 1990, the Grammy nominee is the son of fellow country singer-songwriter Rhett Akins and Paige Lankford (née Braswell). Thomas and his sister, Kasey Akins, grew up in Nashville, where he later attended his mother’s alma mater, Lipscomb University, to study communications. He ultimately dropped out of college at the age of 20 to pursue a songwriting career.
After penning tracks for artists including Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line, Thomas signed a recording contract of his own with Big Machine Records’ The Valory Music Co. imprint. He released his debut single, “Something to Do With My Hands,” in 2012, followed by his first hit, “Beer With Jesus.”
That same year, Thomas married Lauren Akins, whom he met in elementary school and briefly dated in high school before they rekindled their romance in 2011. Lauren, who graduated from the University of Tennessee with a nursing degree, went on to star in the music video for Thomas’ highest-charting single to date, 2015’s “Die a Happy Man.”
The couple became parents in 2017 when they welcomed two daughters back-to-back. They adopted Willa Gray from Uganda that May, and found out in the middle of the process that Lauren was pregnant. She gave birth to Ada James that August. Their arrivals inspired another one of Thomas’ hits, “Life Changes.”
“I remember the day I told my daddy and mama, ‘You’re gonna have a grandkid’ / ‘Yep, from Uganda, that’s right, we’re adopting, and she is the cutest little girl that you’ve ever seen,’” he sang in the 2017 song from the album of the same name. “While I was wrapping my head around being a dad / A big wrench got thrown in the plans we thought we had / Now Lauren’s showing, got one on the way / Yeah, that’s two under 2 / Hey, what can I say?”
Thomas and Lauren welcomed a third daughter, Lennon Love, in February 2020.
Scroll down for a comprehensive guide to the Akins family!
Thomas has become one of the biggest names in country music, with three Grammy nominations and a CMT Artist of the Year award under his belt.
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Unlike her husband, Lauren never dreamed of being in the spotlight. However, she put nursing aside to follow him on the road and start a family. She works closely with the nonprofit organization Love One International and wrote a memoir titled Live in Love that is due to hit bookstores in August 2020.
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Lauren met the couple’s eldest daughter, who was born in November 2015, during a trip to Uganda in 2016. She quickly developed a bond with Willa and returned to the African country a dozen times with Thomas over the next year. They formally adopted the then-18-month old in May 2017.
Courtesy Lauren Akins/Instagram
Thomas and Lauren welcomed their second daughter in August 2017. Along with Willa, Ada has been a fixture on her parents’ Instagram pages ever since.
Courtesy Lauren Akins/Instagram
The author gave birth to her and Thomas’ third daughter in February 2020. “Ada James and Willa Gray are going to be the best big sisters on the planet,” the dad of three wrote via Instagram at the time.
Courtesy of Katelyn Brown Photo/Instagram
Thomas’ dad released three albums in the ‘90s to moderate success and has since made three more. He is best known for his songs “Don’t Get Me Started” and “That Ain’t My Truck,” in addition to writing for Aldean, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Dustin Lynch, among other country artists. He also cowrote several of Thomas’ songs and collaborated with him on 2017’s “Drink a Little Beer.” After divorcing Thomas’ mom, Rhett married Sonya Akins (née Mansfield) in September 2017.
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Thomas’ mom works for Plexus Worldwide, an Arizona-based company that offers health and wellness products. She has also remarried, tying the knot with Tim Lankford in June 2003. The couple share a son, Tyler.
Courtesy Thomas Rhett/Instagram
When she isn’t busy spending time with her nieces, Thomas’ younger sister works with their mom at Plexus. She got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Conner Brandon, in May 2020.
Courtesy Kasey Akins/Instagram
Thomas’ stepmother got engaged to his dad in New York City’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve in December 2016 after several years of dating. When they married the following September, Thomas served as a groomsman and Willa was the flower girl.
Courtesy Sonya Akins/Instagram
Thomas’ youngest half-brother arrived in March 2020, two and a half years after Rhett and Sonya wed — and just one month after Lennon was born.
Courtesy Sonya Akins/Instagram
Thomas’ stepfather works as an insurance agent in Nashville. On Instagram, Paige once credited Tim with fixing her “family when it was broken.”
Courtesy Thomas Rhett/Instagram
Thomas’ eldest half-brother was born to Paige and Tim in April 2005.
Courtesy Tyler Lankford/Instagram
Thomas teamed up with his cousin, a pecan magnate, in January 2021 to launch a premium tequila brand called Dos Primos, which is Spanish for “two cousins.”
Dos Primos Tequilafrom Celebrity News – Us Weekly https://ift.tt/3dByP8r
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