In this scene, Thomas Rhett is thinking back to the first time he laid eyes on his eldest daughter.
The country musician, who is 33 years old, reflected on the first time he saw his daughter Willa Gray, who is now 7 years old, while participating in an episode of the podcast Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon, which is hosted by Kevin Bacon.
“I’ve always thought my wife is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life, but there was something about this picture that she was like, glowing man,” Thomas Rhett said, referring to a photo of his wife Lauren Akins, 33, cradling a baby at an orphanage in Uganda. The picture was taken by the couple’s son, Thomas Rhett Jr.
“And so was this baby, who I’d never met before, and I remember FaceTiming her that night and asking, ‘Who was that baby that you were holding?’ “And so was this baby, who I’d never met before.” She explained it very clearly, “This is Blessing, and there are no living parents or living residents, so she does not have a family.”
“She has been in this children’s home for some time now, and while her name is Willa Gray now, when she was at the orphanage, she went by the name Blessing. And it seemed like she had been there for a week already. The girl’s dad said, “She had just turned six weeks old.”
“And just now, my wife was having a conversation with me, telling me that ‘We have to find a home for this child.'” And I’ll never forget that, guy; it was two in the morning where I was, and I was only half asleep when I said it; it came out of my lips in a sort of jumbled way. “We’re going to bring her home,” we told each other.
“And I don’t even remember saying it, I don’t even know if I was ready to have kids yet,” she said. “And I don’t even remember saying it.” I was really enjoying life on the road, and I had just started to make some headway in my job, so I remember thinking, “Man, if we have kids right now, what is that going to do?” In response, Bacon was informed, “And I’ll never forget those words coming out of my mouth.”
Lillie Carolina, who is 22 months old, Lennon Love, who is 3, Ada James, who is 5, and Willa Gray are the four girls that Thomas Rhett and his wife have together.
The singer has said that his girls have had an impact on his music throughout the years; however, his children had a more significant part on his sixth studio album, Where We Started, by assisting him in completing the record.
“I was alone with my thoughts in 2020 and wrote a lot of songs, just me and the guitar,” Thomas Rhett said to PEOPLE on the album’s inspiration. “I wanted to write some more things that made my kids smile and made my kids want to dance,” he added.
“I began playing the album, and I continued making notes of the songs that they wanted to listen to over and over again as I went along. “There were five or six on there that my two-year-old will now be like, ‘Play daddy song, daddy song,'” he added. “When we get in the car, my 2-year-old will be like, ‘Play daddy song, daddy song.'” “And if it’s not one of those six, even if it’s an older song of mine or a younger one, those are the only six that she cares about. Even if it’s a song that’s been around for a while. Therefore, there is no question that such were included in the record.