Luke Bryan Praises Wife, Caroline, for Stepping In As a Parent for Nephew and Nieces

Luke Bryan’s family faced an unimaginable loss when Bryan’s sister, Kelly, passed away in 2007, followed by her husband, Ben, in 2014. Their deaths left Bryan’s nieces, Kris and Jordan, and nephew, Til, without parents, so Bryan and his wife, Caroline, took them in, and never looked back.

“I do it with my wife, hand in hand,” Bryan said on the TODAY Show. “The work that she puts in with the children … I mean, it’s just amazing. I look at her phone and it’s just pinging and vibrating and going off constantly, and it’s the children.”

The nieces are now older and largely away from home, but Til lives with them, along with the Bryans’ two sons, Tate and Bo. With all three of them, Caroline remains an active presence in their lives.

“She’s really stepped in and just crushed that role at being someone for them,” added the singer.

Caroline also opened up about the family loss, and her role in the lives of her nieces and nephew, especially with her husband on the road so much.

“Trust me, there are times when I just lose my s—,” Caroline said on the Get Real podcast. “Sometimes I just go sit in the shower and cry. I struggle with Luke being gone all the time and how to make everybody happy … Our family thing is, you can take two paths in life: one of being bitter and angry, or one of I’m gonna find the happiness in this and make the best of something that’s horrible.”

Losing Bryan’s sister wasn’t the first tragedy the family experienced. The Georgia native was only 19 when his older brother, Chris, was killed in a car accident. Bryan has learned that it’s okay to be sad, and tries not to shy away from his myriad of emotions.

“I think it’s important for me to try to be honest when I’m having good days, bad days,” Bryan said. “Then the way I conduct myself, hopefully, and the way our family can inspire some people, that’s the special element. If there’s any positive side to any of this thing, I have so many fans walk up and go, ‘You know, just the way you lived through tragedy’s really inspired our family to get through our own personal tragedies and struggles.”

Bryan also takes solace in knowing that other people have dealt with sorrows and losses that he can’t even fathom.

“You’ve got to lean on your faith and understand that you have to really hold true that it was God’s plan,” Bryan said. “Just when I think I’ve got it bad, you meet somebody else that’s dealing with really, really challenging stuff.”

Photo Credit: Getty images/Rick Diamond