Luke Smallbone Reflects on Marriage: ‘We Actually Lived Out Our Vows’

Published: April 19, 2024

Luke Smallbone Reflects on Marriage: ‘We Actually Lived Out Our Vows’

By Movieguide® Contributor

For KING + COUNTRY’s Luke Smallbone is sharing how the ups and downs he and his wife have faced in their marriage made their relationship stronger.

“I fiercely love my wife,” Smallbone said in a recent interview. “And a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve actually been through some things. We actually lived out our vows in our 20s. Not many people are saying, ‘Hey, I’ve lived out my vows in my 20s.’ They usually think that’s gonna take place in their 60s and 80s.”

He continued, “But for us, living out those things has given our relationship the ability to look back and say, ‘Hey, if we went through this, why can’t we go through that?’ And I think that’s been nothing but a good thing for us.”

Smallbone’s wife Courtney has been open about her struggles with anxiety and drug addiction, caused by a Lemierre’s syndrome diagnosis, as well as severe morning sickness during her second pregnancy.

“I felt so much shame for not being strong, and so I just didn’t talk about it,” Courtney shared.

After telling Smallbone about her addiction issues, Courtney was checked into an outpatient facility and “really started digging into the Word of God.”

“My life now is better than I would have ever imagined or dreamt of from the moment I was checked into outpatient therapy,” she said. “I used to feel like a victim of life, of when life would get hard. I didn’t know, really, what to do, and I feel like my life now is when hard things come and, and pain happens, I know I’m gonna be okay. And I know that God is healer and that God can do anything, and nothing’s impossible for Him.”

Reflecting on the couple’s ups and downs, Smallbone shared, “What I realized about being in a family, in a marriage, is, when resolved conflict takes place, it breeds a stronger relationship, it breeds a stronger friendship.”

In another interview, Smallbone discussed the “gift of struggle” and how it has impacted his music career.

“As a young boy and, in some cases, since I’ve been doing music, I’ve been given the gift of struggle,” he explained. “For me, music has been about writing about those things…writing about the gift of life, in some cases the gift of sorrow, because it’s in the sorrow that you learn so much.”

Movieguide® previously reported on for KING & COUNTRY’s efforts to make music that inspires others:

Two weeks into their “What Are We Waiting For?” tour, For King & Country are excited for what the Lord has in store.

“We’ve gotten through the hard stuff,” Luke Smallbone told the Albuquerque Journal. “We’re always grateful to be out on the road. We’ve switched the gear and have found our stride.”

“We write these songs in these little rooms and in some cases they are your stories of hopes and dreams,” Luke said. “When you release it, it’s for the world to hear. So far, people have been very kind. Art is a subjective idea. In some cases, you can sign up for people getting really angry.”

“Our hope is to make a piece of music in an album that tells a full story,” he continued. “I want track eight and nine to be as important as one and five. Who wants the end of the story to be lame? We try to write albums that tell a complete story. One that will have some connection with an audience.”