Thomas Rhett and Wife Talk Adoption Story, Life In Quarantine, and More on ‘Kelly Clarkson Show’
The story brought Kelly to tears!
Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins had a virtual chat with Kelly Clarkson for The Kelly Clarkson Show this week. One of the things the Akins shared with Kelly during the interview was the powerful story of adopting their daughter, Willa. Lauren shared that she has always had a special place in her heart for adoption because her mom was adopted, and when she first met baby Willa while volunteering in Uganda, she felt a special connection.
“The second I touched her, it was electric,” Lauren says. “I was like, ‘Oh my word, this little girl has just taken my heart.’”
Kelly then responded with tears in her eyes, agreeing that someone does not have to be related to a child to feel that motherly connection. Lauren continued, saying that she and Thomas were originally setting out to find Willa her forever home with someone else, but that all changed when Thomas suggested they be that home for her.
“I had talked to her on the phone that night when she said that we needed to find her a home,” says Thomas. “It was after a concert, and I was going to bed, and I was like, ‘We’ll bring her home.’ I don’t fully remember even saying it; it was like such a spiritual thing for me that it just came out of my body.”
Lauren also chatted with Kelly about her new book, Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes, which will be out May 5th. In the book, Lauren writes about her life, her love story with Thomas, and the process of adopting Willa and welcoming their biological daughters, Ada and Lennon.
“It was a very therapeutic process going back through all of that,” says Lauren. “It’s scary. I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t anxious and nervous about this coming out just because it’s really personal, it’s really honest.”
Thomas and Kelly also talked about how things are going at home during the current quarantine. The couple just welcomed their third daughter, Lennon, two months ago, so they’ve been keeping busy with their three kids. Luckily, Lauren’s sister and a few of her friends live nearby, so they’ve had help.
“They have been here, I think, 34 days that they have been here,” says Lauren.
“We’ve had a lot of help, which has been nice,” adds Thomas.
