Luke Bryan is more than just a well-known country music performer and American Idol judge. He is also a loving uncle, spouse, and father. After tragedy struck the family in 2014, Luke took up the responsibility of raising his sister’s children.
“They never found out what happened to Kelly.” “No one, not the autopsies, not the coroner, could figure it out,” Luke said in 2013. Ben also died abruptly in 2014 after being involved in an automobile accident.
Jordan and Kris were both in college at the time, while Til was sixteen. Luke and Caroline made the quick choice to adopt all three of them.
Caroline stated in 2017, “We never gave it a second thought.”
Til then traveled to Nashville to live with her family.
“I woke up one day and I’m raising a teen,” Luke explained.
Despite the fact that the experience has been “tough” given the circumstances, the family would not have it any other way.
Luke Bryan was reared with his brother and sister in a rural Georgia town. Sadly, the star’s family has been through a number of tragedies during his upbringing.
Luke’s brother Chris died in a car accident while Luke was a teenager in 2000. His sister Kelly died of unknown causes, leaving her husband Ben to care for their three children.
After losing both of his siblings and launching his musical career in Nashville, Luke married Caroline, his college sweetheart. Tatum Christopher is eight years old, and Thomas Boyer, better known as “Bo,” is eleven. They have been married for 11 years.
However, the family experienced yet another devastating loss in 2014. Ben, Luke’s brother-in-law, also died, leaving his two daughters and son without a father figure.
Til Cheshire was sixteen at the time. Jordan was 22 years old, and Kris was 19 years old.
Caroline and Luke’s decision to adopt the three children as their own, she adds, was never in doubt.
“We never thought twice about it,” she said in 2017. It was never a subject on which he and I had to agree. Should we go forward with it? We simply did it.”
It did, however, necessitate a great amount of familial adjustment. Til relocated to Nashville in order to be closer to Luke, Caroline, and their two sons.
“I woke up one day and I’m raising a teen,” Luke previously stated. And it’s challenging because my main concern with Til is simply providing the right amount of guidance while remembering that you’re speaking to a developing adult.”
He discussed the balance of his strictness and friendship with Til.
“I have to play the role of the parent, where if she does something, she needs to be in trouble,” he explained, “but I also want to be a friend to her.”
“But now we’re kind of pals,” Luke explained. “Until he makes me… At that time, I yelled at him, “OK, you’re forcing me to grow up; don’t force me to grow up!”, she said.
In truth, raising a teenager is vastly different from raising a younger child. One advantage is that you can leverage social media.
“We’re having to check grades, Instagram, and Snapchat to keep her from being on that all day long,” Luke says.
Overall, the blended family has managed to make the best of a poor situation.
“Obviously, my nieces and nephew, they didn’t ask for this,” Luke said in 2015.
“We’re honored to have done what we thought was right,” he continued, “but you don’t want to appear to appreciate having them so much that you’re glad it’s the case.”
Luke referred to him and Til as “buddies.” Til, he says, is someone his younger sons can look up to and learn from, including all the hipster new viral dances.
“The Dab, as well as everything else. The Nae Nae as well. He stated that she teaches it to all of them. They’re out there on the yard doing that when they score a touchdown.”
The kids go fishing together in addition to playing board games. All three boys appeared in Luke’s previous year’s music video for “What Makes You Country.”
With so many tragedies over the years, Luke admitted that he and his family periodically “get outraged at why everything has happened.” What can you blame them for?
They make an effort to stay positive throughout, and they have established a strong family foundation for these children.
According to Luke, if they can only keep their positive attitude throughout this, they may be able to serve as an example for those who have faced similar challenges.
“You just have to keep going and play the cards that are presented to you.”
