CMT Awards: Luke Bryan and Wife Caroline Dazzle on Red Carpet

Luke Bryan and wife Caroline took date night to a whole new level as they stepped out on the CMT Music Awards red carpet Wednesday.

The American Idol judge kept things chic and simple in an all-black ensemble with a pop of brown on his blazer, while Caroline showed off her toned and tan legs in a metallic mini dress.

Luke performed his new song, “Knockin’ Boots” during the awards ceremony, joining acts such as Day + Shay, Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker; Brett Young and Boyz II Men; Thomas Rhett, Little Big Town and Trombone Shorty; and Sheryl Crow and Maren Morris.

And while he danced alongside quite a few country girls during his performance, it’s clear the country star and his wife of more than 12 years were meant to be.

“We met my first week of college, at a bar called Dingus, and we were just hanging out,” Caroline revealed on the Get Real podcast in February. “It was a Thursday night. I was a freshman. It was my first time in a bar. I was so sheltered growing up in a very small town — Sandersville, the Kaolin Capital of the World — and I’d had the same boyfriend since 8th grade. We’d agreed to go our separate ways and just see what was out there. Luke’s personality was so big, I was staring at him like, ‘Is this guy for real?’ He was the second guy I ever kissed in my life. Ever.”

“We dated for year and a half, and then I got freaked out because he was talking about marriage,” Caroline recalled. “We separated for four years. Us breaking up was horrible. It was Christmas of my sophomore year, when he was leaving school. I dated two other guys, but Luke was always the sweetest and the best. Hands down. But I wasn’t ready to be in love. He had the nerve once to bring a girl to my house in college for a pre-party. I got pissed and I left. I was like, ‘What the hell?’”

While the two might have gotten off to a tough start, fate was soon to intervene and get them back together.

“I was a drug rep in Macon, [Georgia], but I was in Statesboro for work, and my brother said, ‘Guess who is playing in town?’ I saw Luke playing, and something was different,” she added. “We made eye contact and we locked eyes. I was in my work clothes, not going-out clothes. I felt like a grandma. Then he took a break, and I thought he was trying to avoid me. So I left. He called my brother’s house at 3:00 a.m., and I answered.”

“He was like, ‘Where did you go?’ I said, ‘I thought you didn’t want to see me,’” she revealed. “Anyway, we’ve been together ever since. He and I would’ve never ever, ever lasted if we didn’t have a break. We appreciate each other.”

Photo credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CMT