Thomas Rhett‘s Center Point Road Tour was sidelined this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which means the country star has been able to spend much more time at home with his family than he had originally planned. That family includes Rhett’s wife, Lauren Akins, and their three daughters — 4-year-old Willa Gray, 3-year-old Ada James and Lennon Love, who was born in February.
“We have had a really sweet last six months with our new family of five,” Akins told PEOPLE. “It has been my dream come true having him home. It was a bit of an adjustment for him [because] he’s used to going, going, going every three or four days. I think it was hard for him to have to go from such a fast-paced life to slowing way down. Then to be in it with me and three kids every single day, every single night, was hard for him because he’s able to catch up on sleep when he goes to the bus and gets full nights of sleep.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
The Live in Love author added that her husband has since developed a “whole new appreciation for mom.”
“I think he’s like, ‘The moms and dads who are up with their kids every single night, that’s no joke,’” she said. “I’ve been really proud of how he has tackled the no-sleep nights, day after day. Our kids are honestly really good, but having a new baby in the house is a whole different thing. But it’s been a lot of fun and he’s such a good dad, and he just loves our kids so well. We really had a lot of fun.”
Akins shared that some of the family’s quarantine activities have included cooking, spending time outside, movie nights and “lots of dress-up.” “They are girls, girls,” she said. “They’re tough and they’ll do things and explore new things for the most part. But man, I was not as girly as they are, so that’s a new thing for me. But it is so much fun, their little minds, how creative they are. It’s like they live in a little dreamland all the time. It’s really sweet.”
Speaking to CMT‘s Cody Alan, Rhett admitted that going out on the road again is going to be “really tough” for him. “I think when next summer rolls around and we get back on the road it’s going to be really tough to leave,” he said. “I think my kids got so used to me being dad on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and not on the weekends and so now that I’m here 24/7 during the week they’re gonna be like, ‘What? You work? You have a job?’ and so it’ll be different.”
