Miranda Lambert Praises Husband Brendan McLoughlin for Taking Her Celebrity Status 'Like a Champ'

Country superstar Miranda Lambert shocked fans when she revealed she had married New York City police officer Brendan McLoughlin earlier this year, in a small ceremony on her farm. The Texas native, who met McLoughlin thanks to some behind-the-scenes work of her fellow Pistol Annies members while performing on Good Morning America, unintentionally thrust McLoughlin into the public eye when she announced their marriage, which her husband is taking all in stride.

"To pull him into that world, I was like, 'I'm sorry, this might be a shock,'" Lambert told PEOPLE. "He just takes it like a champ. He's better at it than I am."

Lambert and McLoughlin wed on January 26, but didn't go public with the news until several weeks later. For Lambert, it was important to her to keep that day, and their relationship, between them for as long as possible.

"I was married before, and it was a huge wedding and everything was very public. So was my divorce," Lambert said, speaking of her former marriage to Blake Shelton. "I learned then that it's not for everybody else. This is my actual life. With Brendan, I made it a point to keep it as private as I could for as long as I could."

Lambert and McLoughlin tied the knot only a few months after meeting, but Lambert didn't have any hesitation that McLoughlin was the one for her.

"I feel like I've been through enough in my life to know what I don't want, so when I know what I do want I snatch it right up," explained the singer.

If it wasn't love at first sight, it was close enough for Lambert.

"I guess so. If that's a thing," she quipped. "I have eight dogs and had love at first sight with them, too. Must be easier than I thought!"

The 35-year-old didn't have anyone at her ceremony – not even Pistol Annies' Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe. But even while trying to maintain some form of privacy in her personal life, she knows she can't escape the tabloids' constant fodder – a fact she finds baffling.

"I'm literally so normal," Lambert said, adding she shops at Target by herself. 'Why are y'all so interested?' I'm thankful, but I'm never going to get used to the public eye in that way."

Lambert's Wildcard album is out on Nov. 1. Order the record on her website.

Photo Credit: Getty Images / FilmMagic / Leah Puttkammer/