The same week that a 19-year-old Luke Bryan was supposed to leave for Nashville, his older brother, Chris, was killed in a car accident. The tragedy delayed Bryan’s plans. He stayed in his home state Georgia and finished a degree from Georgia Southern University. There, Bryan would meet his future wife, Caroline Boyer. However, his father encouraged him to leave Georgia and try to nurture his music career.
Bryan wrote music for artists in Nashville, before being signed to a contract with Capitol Nashville. In 2006, he and Boyer married. However, tragedy was still chasing Bryan. In 2007, his sister, Kelly, died mysteriously in her home. Kelly was young and had an active lifestyle, but the circumstances of her natural death remained unknown.
“They never determined what happened. The autopsies, the coroner, no one could figure it out,” Bryan said, of her passing.
Later, Bryan and Boyer would go onto have two sons, Thomas “Bo”, and Tatum. In 2017, Bryan’s brother-in-law and the father of Kelly’s children, also passed. Bryan’s three niblings, Jordan, Kris, and Til, were suddenly orphaned.
“We never thought twice about it,” said Caroline about taking in their two nieces and nephew. “You know, it was never something that he and I had to sit down and talk about,” Boyer said. “You know, should we take this on? We just did it.”
Now, the 47-year-old is the father of 5, between the ages of 26 and 12.
“I woke up one day and I’m raising a teen,” Bryan 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,” Luke told People. “I have to be that parent role where if he does something, he needs to get in trouble, but I want to be a friend to him too.”
Now, Bryan focuses on family. “You’re never gonna bat a thousand. You’re not always going to knock it out of the park. Cut yourself some slack. I think the important thing is being able to say you’re sorry and trying to take fatherhood and learn from it each and every day and hopefully apply it well.”
Sources:
Luke Bryan Kids and Family – How Many Kids Does Luke Bryan Have? (countryliving.com)
Luke Bryan’s Brother and Sister Died – Luke Bryan’s Siblings, Kids Family Today (countryliving.com)
Luke Bryan Opens Up About Siblings’ Deaths | News | CMT
Luke Bryan on Balancing Work and Fatherhood | POPSUGAR Family
