Thomas Rhett Encourages His Adopted Black Daughter To ‘Shine Her Light’

Mar 24, 2022

Thomas Rhett was born Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. in Valdosta, Georgia, in 1990. His father is country singer Rhett Akins, and after growing up surrounded by the influence of the industry, Thomas followed in his dad’s footsteps and pursued a career in country music as well. The young man has proved himself to be just as talented as his father and has received many accolades for his singing and songwriting. 

Thomas has been working as a country singer and songwriter since 2010 when he was just 20-years-old. He dropped out of college to pursue his music career, and it turned out to be the right choice for him. Of his five studio albums, Thomas has produced 17 number-one singles on the Billboard country chart. Some of his hits include, “It Goes Like This,” “Die a Happy Man,” “T-Shirt” and “Look What God Gave Her.”

In total, Thomas has received four Grammy Award nominations, two of which were for Best Country Album in 2017 and 2019. The star has also lent his talent to other country singers by writing songs for Jason Aldean, Lee Brice, Florida Georgia Line, Michael Ray and more. 

Outside of his career, Thomas is married to Lauren Akins and they have four daughters. Their eldest child was adopted from Uganda in May 2017, who they named Willa Gray. Meanwhile, their biological daughter Ada James was born later that same year. The couple also has two other girls who were born in 2020 and 2021. Keep reading to learn more about this family and why Thomas says he wants his adopted daughter to grow up proud of her culture.

Thomas Rhett’s wife, Lauren, fell in love with their daughter Willa as soon as she saw her. "I was in Uganda in 2016, and I had a picture of one of the babies there, and I had shared it on social media," Lauren said. "And when I finally got to FaceTime that night, I was telling him her story, 'Babe, we know so many people who are trying to adopt right now, and this little girl needs a forever home.'

Right away, Lauren knew she had to help this little girl find the perfect family. "The second I touched her, it was electric," she added. "I was like, 'Oh, this little girl has just taken my heart.' I was like, 'Honey, we've got to find her forever home. Like, I know that's why I'm here — to get this girl to her home.'"

Lauren wasn’t exactly thinking of adopting Willa at first, just that she wanted the special girl to find a family. When she told her husband about Willa and how important it was that she find her the right home, Thomas had just finished a concert and immediately thought of welcoming Willa into their own family. "I was like, 'Well, bring her home.' And I don't fully remember even saying it," Thomas said.

Adoption was always an option for the couple, but they hadn’t fully talked about it before Lauren met Willa. "I'd always talked about adopting my whole life," she said. "My mom is actually adopted. I just thought it was really cool. And we had talked about it off and on, but it wasn't something that we'd sat down and had a full-on adoption conversation."

Because Lauren, Thomas and their other daughters are all white and Willa is Black, she has begun to notice that her family is different from others. “It’s something that we talk about really openly," Thomas shared. "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. That's something we want to educate her on as long as she's still in our household and even beyond that."

Even though they don’t always know just what to say, as Thomas has shared, the couple work together to teach Willa and their other daughters how important it is to love themselves and show love to others. "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," the dad said. "We're still dealing with it just like everybody else, and we're still trying to ask the right questions and educate ourselves, as well."

By being open and honest with their daughter, Thomas and Lauren have set her on a great path to success. In fact, the young girl’s teachers already notice her potential. "Willa Gray is one of the smartest that I've ever met," Thomas said. "When she comes from school, her teachers ... the main thing they’re saying is how intuitive she is and how much she recognizes at a young age."

What do you think of the way Thomas Rhett is raising his daughters? Do you know anyone who was adopted from another country? Let us know and feel free to pass this along to your friends and family.