Thomas Rhett Reveals Lauren Akins’ Father Gave Him an Ultimatum Before Romance Began

Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, have been married for more than six years, and share daughters Willa Gray and Ada James. Rhett previously said that he and Akins were both dating other people when they decided to start their own relationship, now revealing that it was Akins’ father who gave him the courage to finally make a move.

‘It was a sliding door moment, where it could have gone the other way,” Rhett revealed to Hits Daily Double. “We were dating other people. In another world, we might have married them. But there was always something different about Lauren, and we both felt it, but we never figured it out. The night of her sister’s graduation party, we were buddies and I was there. I’d loved that girl since high school, and I told her father how I felt.

“He said, ‘If you don’t tell her, I’m going to,’” he continued. “It was a total Ryan Gosling moment. I said to her, ‘I just want to kiss you one time. If you don’t feel anything, we can go back to being friends.’ I’ve learned this: It’s wise to confront things instead of holding them in. That creates resistance instead of resolution.”

Rhett has written plenty of songs about his wife, but never wrote one from her perspective, until he wrote “Dreams You Never Had.” The song, on his latest Center Point Road record, was written about all that Akins gave up to help Rhett pursue country music.

“It’s probably the hardest song I’ve ever written,” acknowledged the singer. “It’s that personal level where I’m opening her truth up. Because if you’d asked my wife at 18, ‘Do you wanna marry a country singer?’ she’d have said no. And I remember saying to her, ‘Look, I love you and I wanna marry you. But you may hate this life. I’m gonna be gone a lot, and you’re gonna be alone handling things — or you’re gonna be out there with me away from everything in your life.’

“I wanted to be honest with her, because it’s not what people think,” he added. “She has to give a lot to me, and I have to give a lot to her — not have to but want to.”

Rhett is currently on his Very Hot Summer Tour. Find dates, and purchase Center Point Road, at ThomasRhett.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Robyn Beck