When people are going through tough times internally, they often put on a strong face for the outside world.
The country music star Luke Bryan has experienced heartbreak, but his positive attitude in the face of tragedy is an encouragement to his fans. In 2007, Luke Bryan was hit with devastating news.
His sister Kelly, who had been taking care of him at home, had passed quite suddenly.
No one, not even specialists, could pinpoint what killed her.
“They never determined what happened [to Kelly]. The autopsies, the coroner, no one could figure it out,” Luke said in an interview with People magazine in 2013 about the tragedy.
Her husband Ben picked up the reins and began raising their three children.
He has his son Til and daughters Kris and Jordan living with him on their own.
Unfortunately, the family lost Ben in an accident in 2014, which was a tremendous tragedy.
While his sisters were in their early 20s, Til was just 16. When a tragic event occurred, Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline took swift action.
The couple, who had met in Georgia, adopted all three children.
In a 2017 interview, Caroline stated, “We never thought twice about it.”
Til, a 16-year-old, has recently moved in with the couple in Nashville.
In 2000, when Luke was still a teenager, his older brother Chris was killed in a car accident. Seven years later, the death of his sister Kelly must have been devastating for the country singer.
Perhaps Luke’s music’s depth of feeling comes from the loss of his two older brothers and sisters.
The singer married his college sweetheart and debuted in Nashville not long after.
He was a senior at Georgia Southern University, and Caroline was a freshman.
“We hung out as friends first, and he never made a move on me. I kissed him first! He was always so scared of making a girl feel uncomfortable. He wouldn’t cross a line,” Caroline told People in 2014.
After dating on and off for numerous years before being married in 2006, the couple has now been together for over 11 years.
Tatum Christopher is only eight years old, while Thomas Boyer, aka “Bo,” is eleven. Those are their own sons right here.
In 2014, Luke and Caroline also became uncle and aunt to three new little ones. Both partners have said that it was never a major worry.
“We never thought twice about it. You know, it was never something that he and I had to sit down and talk about. ‘Should we take this on?’ We just did that,” she said in an interview.
Til’s relocation to Nashville with his family required readjustment on everyone’s part.
“I woke up one day and I’m raising a teen,” Luke had stated in an earlier interview.
In addition, he said, “And it’s a challenge because my main thing with Til is just properly giving the right amount of advice and realizing you’re talking to someone who is becoming an adult.”
Finding common ground with Til, he admitted, had been difficult. He remarked, “I have to play that parent role where if he does something, he needs to get in trouble, but I want to be a friend to him too,” he said.
“We’re buddies now, though, kinda,” Luke told ABC. “Until he makes me… That’s when I get onto him, I’m like, ‘All right, you’re making me be an adult; don’t make me be an adult!’” the country singer went on.
The sad events that brought them together as a blended family have not dampened their joy in one other’s company.
“You don’t want to sound like you love having them so much that you’re glad it’s the situation, but we’re honored to be doing what we feel was the right thing,” the singer clarified.
He says that his sons now look up to his nephew Til as if he were a real brother. And their connection to one another is lovely.
They also enjoy going fishing together in addition to playing board games.
In Luke’s music video for “What Makes You Country,” all three sons made an appearance.
Luke acknowledged that, despite everything they have going for them, the tragedy of their situation still occasionally makes him and his family unhappy. However, progress must be made.
“We feel like if we just stay positive through this, maybe we’ll be a positive inspiration for people that had these things happen to ’em,” Luke said in an interview. “You just have to plow on and play the hand that’s dealt.”
Luke Bryan’s farm
His biological offspring are currently living in Nashville with the Bryans, who own a huge property.
The 10,000 square foot home in Williamson County’s countryside includes a 1,800 square foot guesthouse and a 7,000 square foot party barn.
Both houses have six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a movie room, and an outside catfish pond.
According to Countryfancast, Luke named the farm “Red Bird Farm” in honor of his sister and Chris. The country musician and his wife built their home with East Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm as an inspiration. The inventor, Chad James, has been quoted as saying:
”One day, we were out there and Luke said, ‘Have you ever been to Blackberry Farm? If you can make this farm look like Blackberry Farm, I’ll be the happiest man on this planet,’” James recalled.