Dad’s night out! Months after Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins welcomed their fourth daughter, the singer stepped out solo to celebrate country music at the 2022 ACM Awards.
Rhett, 31, was all smiles on the red carpet on Monday, March 7 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas while Akins, 32, was not seen with her husband. Instead, Rhett seemed to enjoy a boys’ night.
He was spotted chatting with Jason Aldean before the show kicked off, and he gave Chris Stapleton a big old hug mid-show. Later, Rhett sang “Praise the Lord” with Breland.
The “Country Again” crooner earned nominations for Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year but lost to Stapleton and Morgan Wallen, respectively.
He’s going home empty handed, but he’s headed back to his happy family.
The college sweethearts were already the parents of daughters Willa Gray, 6, Ada James, 4, and Lennon Love, 2, when they welcomed baby No. 4 late last year.
“Our little miss Lillie Carolina Akins was born on November 15th and our family couldn’t be more over the moon about our littlest joy,” the “Live in Love” podcast host announced via Instagram in November 2021. “‘If He dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor / How much more will He clothe you? / If He watched over every sparrow / How much more does He love you?’ Lyrics from ‘Jireh’ by @elevationworship and @maverickcitymusic inspired by scriptures in Matthew 6 & Luke 12. Just love hearing her name as the sweetest reminder of how much God cares for us.”
The Georgia native gushed over his wife’s strength in a social media post of his own, writing, “@laur_akins you are my hero. Watching a child being born is legit a miracle. Four under 6 here we go!”
Rhett, who released his album Country Again: Side A seven months before Lillie’s birth, confirmed Akins was expecting during a May 2021 concert.
“Well … we are pregnant again,” the “Unforgettable” performer wrote via Instagram at the time. “Tonight when I was on stage in Fort Worth about to play ‘To the Guys That Date My Girls,’ my wife talked to me in my (ear monitors) and said, ‘You can tell them if you want,’ so anyways, now you know. We are pumped to be having our fourth girl. Feel free to buy all the merch you want, knowing that all the proceeds are going straight to all these weddings I’ll be paying for one day! Love you so much @laur_akins we always wanted a big Thanksgiving table.”
Over the years, Rhett — who married the former nurse in 2012 — has frequently opened up about being a proud papa to his little ones.
“I was born to be a girl dad, and I love it,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2019. “I love doing their hair, and I love playing the Barbies with them, whatever they want me to do, tea parties. It’s just been awesome to get to be a dad of two beautiful girls and [have] a third one on the way.”
The duo adopted Willa Gray from Uganda in 2017, and have since been candid about teaching her to embrace her heritage.
“I think me and Lauren’s main thing we want to get across is how proud we are and that we want her to grow up proud of herself and of her family and to embrace who you are and to embrace your uniqueness and embrace your culture as well,” the country singer told Entertainment Tonight in September 2020. “That’s something we want to educate her on as long as she’s still in our household and even beyond that. … We just try to preach to our kids to shine your light everywhere you go and realize that the world is cruel, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be.”
