Darius Rucker’s Single Mother Impacted His Role as a Father

Darius Rucker grew up without a father. The South Carolina native was raised, along with his five siblings, by a single mother, who quietly taught Rucker things he uses today with his own children.

“She had a lot great qualities, but she was always, family was first for her,” Rucker boasts. “She was always a rock and making sure she took care of us and making sure we had things we needed to have to survive – food and clothes and a home – and seeing that and seeing how hard she worked and all the things she did just really made me the father that I am today.

“I mean, I’m so crazy and hands-on with my kids,” he continues. “I think it all comes from watching my mom have to struggle so much to support us. And so now, I don’t want me or my wife to ever have to struggle, and I don’t want my kids to ever want or wonder where I am or where their mom is. I want them to always know where we are and always be taken care of, and that all comes from my mom.”

Rucker doesn’t get to spend as much time at home with his daughter, Daniella and son, Jack (he also has a grown daughter, Caroline), but when he is off the road, he takes his parenting role seriously.

“Dani would say that I was a fun Dad. My little daughter would say that I was a fun dad; she thinks I’m a lot of fun,” reflects Rucker. “I think if you caught them at the right moment they would say I was mean [laughs] because when I’m home I’m not afraid to discipline them. I’m all fun until it’s not fun anymore and then daddy’s not the fun guy. I think that they’d say that I was a fun Dad, I’m a loving Dad and I think they would say that.

“I’m gone so much that when I’m home, I just shower love upon my kids,” he adds. “I say ‘I love you’ probably fifty times a day. We hug, we kiss all the time. I’m always wanting them to know how much I love them. So I’d hope they’d say that I was a loving dad.”

Rucker will head out on the road next month to co-headline the Summer Plays On Tour with Lady Antebellum. Dates can be found at DariusRucker.com.

Photo Credit: Instagram/dariusrucker