Thomas Rhett Recalls Moment He, His Wife Decided to Adopt Daughter
By Movieguide® Contributor
While on Kevin Bacon’s podcast, country singer Thomas Rhett told the story of how he came to adopt his eldest daughter Willa Gray.
“I’ve always thought my wife is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life, but there was something about this picture that she was like, glowing, man,” Rhett told Bacon, describing a picture his wife sent him from an orphanage in Uganda, holding a baby.
“And so was this baby, who I’d never met before, and I remember FaceTiming [my wife] that night and saying, ‘Who was that baby that you were holding?’ And she said well, ‘This is Blessing, and there are no living parents or living residents, so she has no family,’” Rhett continued.
“She’s been at this children’s home now and she, her name is Willa Gray, but her name was Blessing at the orphanage. And she had been there for like a week. She was 6 weeks old,” he added.
Rhett’s heart was so filled with love for the baby that before he even knew what he was saying, he suggested to his wife that they take her home.
“My wife was just talking to me, like ‘We have to find a home for this child.’ And I’ll never forget it dude. It was 2 o’clock in the morning where I was half asleep, and it just kind of blurted out of my mouth ‘We’re going to bring her home,’” he recalled.
“I had always wanted to adopt,” his wife Lauren Akins said previously “My mom is actually adopted. I am a product of an adopted family…When I saw her…I was very drawn to her. I just tell everyone she was always my baby. It just took us a little bit longer to find each other.”
“I don’t even know if I was ready to have kids yet,” Rhett said. “I was really loving the road thing, my career was just starting to take off, I was like, ‘Man if we have kids right now, what is that gonna do?’ And I’ll never forget those words coming out of my mouth.”
While the couple welcomed Willa Gray to their family that night, they weren’t able to officially adopt her until nearly two years later. She finally came to the U.S. in 2017, joining Rhett and his wife three months before the birth of their first biological daughter, Ada James.
Two more daughters have since joined the family: Lennon Love in early 2020 and Lillie Carolina towards the end of 2021.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Country star Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins welcomed their fourth child, daughter Lillie Carolina, on Nov. 15 in Nashville.
The couple, who shares Willa Gray, 6, Ada James, 4, and Lennon Love, 21 months, announced the news via Instagram.
“Lillie Carolina Akins born Nov. 15. 7.5 pounds of pure joy,” Rhett wrote in a recent Instagram post. “Lauren, you are my hero. Watching a child being born is legit a miracle. 4 under 6 here we go!”
Akins shared the news on her Instagram and quoted lyrics from the Maverick City Music and Elevation Worship song, “Jireh.”
