Like the refrain of a country song, Sam Hunt still has some growin’ to do.
The country crooner, 38, acknowledged that he may not have always gotten it right before becoming a parent to daughter Lucy Louise in May 2022.
“There were years there where, you know, maybe I didn’t realize how much growing up I had needed to do,” Hunt, told ET Canada in an interview published on Tuesday, July 18. “And having a child forces you to do that. It shifts something in your nervous system. There’s a skin that I needed to shed, and I did that when I had my child.”
Hunt further explained that becoming a first-time dad “woke me up out of this, I wouldn’t say I was sleepwalking, but I had definitely gotten into a routine after years of doing the same thing over and over,” he said. “I was just at a place in my life where I really needed that, and I’m grateful for it and I feel like I leveled up in a lot of ways.”
While Hunt stepped up to the plate for his daughter, he and his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, hit a rough patch prior to her birth. In February 2022, three months before the duo welcomed Lucy Louise, Fowler filed for divorce from Hunt, alleging that her husband was “guilty of inappropriate marital conduct” and “adultery.” However, the pair reconciled, and Fowler called off the divorce that April.
While reflecting on his past choices and looking toward the future, Hunt elaborated: “I’ve got a long way to go in general now, but I feel up for the challenge.”
As for how he plans to pave the way for his children — Hunter and Fowler are currently expecting their second child — the “Outskirts” singer explains that his daughter (and baby-on-the-way) act “like a mirror in some ways.”
“All this self-awareness comes over me and I want to make sure I’m carrying myself in a way that is responsible … I have so much more perspective on myself,” he explained. “What I’m saying, how I’m saying it, how I’m carrying myself, and that’s powerful to see yourself through your child’s eyes.”
Hunt and Fowler, for their part, have patched up their relationship woes and are currently “walking on air” while expecting baby No. 2.
“Just a lot of things in life are all lining up right now,” Hunt gushed.
