Luke Combs Was Able to Help His Parents Retire Early

Along with changing his own life, Luke Combs‘ success has also changed his parents’ lives in a big way, as the country star was able to help his mom, Rhonda, and dad, Chester, retire early. Combs initially shared the news in a radio interview ahead of the pandemic, revealing that his parents had been able to stop working within the past year.

“I helped both of my parents retire, which has been a really amazing experience…and that decision was solely predicated off being able to spend more time with my parents as they get older, and watching that happen has been not only a joy for me, but a great way for them to have the financial freedom and the ability to come out and experience some of these awesome things that I get to do, you know, right by my side,” Combs said, via CMT. “Which I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Ahead of the ACM Awards in April, the Academy of Country Music shared a video of Combs talking about his parents, calling them his “superheroes.” “My superheroes are my parents, they did a whole lot for me growing up and I think I turned out alright,” the singer shared. “And I think in today’s crazy world that’s a pretty incredible achievement in itself.”

He also praised his mom and dad for some of the qualities that he now prides in himself. “My parents instilled a lot of great things in me, I think,” he reflected. “You know, treating others the way you want to be treated. I think is a really important thing and really surrounding yourself with the right people I think is always something that’s super important. Having a lot of really great friends around. And just being a good person in general, I think that’s some skills that have served me well and I have my parents to thank.”

Another major supporter Combs has to thank is his late grandfather, who always told him that playing music was “the thing” he was meant to do. “At the time, it’s just like, ‘Oh, you’re grandpa, he loves you,’” he recalled, “but he had this demeanor when he said it. He was like, ‘No, if you stick with this thing you’re gonna be really great at this, if you keep doing it.’ And I guess I always kind of thought that he was just saying grandpa things, you know what I mean? You’re not going to tell your grandkids that they’re going to be terrible at whatever they want to do.”

“When I look back on it, the seriousness that he said it with is something that stuck with me,” Combs continued. “And he did get to hear my first album, which is something that I’m very thankful for. It hadn’t been released yet at the time he passed away, so he never got to see what came of that, but he did get to see the culmination of all the work I put into making it and to moving [to Nashville] and actually following through with chasing this dream, and it’s taught me a lot.”