Thomas Rhett Shares His Love Story with TODAY Show’s Willie Geist

"I think in the back of my mind, as much as I tried to push it back, it was like she was always 'the one,'" said Rhett.

Written by Lauren Laffer
Thomas Rhett Shares His Love Story with TODAY Show’s Willie Geist
Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren; Photo via @thomasrhettakins on Instagram

Thomas Rhett has had a year that many new artists could only dream about. After blazing up the country radio charts with hit after hit, the singer announced his first headlining tour (and an extension to that sold-out tour) as well as revealing the news that he’s back in the studio to work on his follow-up to his sophomore release Tangled Up. But through thick and thin, he’s had one person by his side, his wife Lauren.

The couple first met in first grade at the ripe age of six, but it wasn’t until the two were (slightly) older, that things began to click.

“It probably wasn’t until third or fourth grade church camp that we really started to know who each other were,” Rhett told TODAY Show correspondent Willie Geist. “When we got to high school, we dated for like six months and then broke up, then got back together after college. I think in the back of my mind, as much as I tried to push it back, it was like she was always ‘the one.'”

Lauren has spent the last four years with him on the road as he tried to make ends meet as a singer, not knowing whether or not he’d be able to treat her to special holiday treats. “Five years ago, I was checking my bank account to see if we could afford a Christmas tree,” said the Tennessee native.

The couple is seeing better days now, thanks to Rhett’s success in country music and his recent GRAMMY-nominated song “Die A Happy Man,” a song he co-wrote for his wife. She also stars in the accompanying music video.

“Convincing Lauren to be in a video is like pulling teeth, honestly,” he explained. “She does not like to be the center of attention and I was like ‘babe, this song is about you.’ And I don’t really like to put other girls in my video, period, at least for me to interact with them. That’s just something I’ve always been that way.”

During the rest of Rhett’s sit-down with Geist, they covered topics ranging from his original pursuit of becoming a doctor, as well as the time Blake Shelton tried to tutor him. See what went down in the video above.