Love at first sight isn't for everyone. But there are a few lucky people who get to experience it and Luke Bryan is one of them.
Country singer Luke Bryan might be very well-known for his hit songs like Country Girl, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, Crash My Party and more. But there is one more thing he is famously known for and that is his love story with his wife of 13 years, Caroline Boyer. And though the two of them have had their ups and downs, just like any other couple, they worked through their issues together which is why they have a two-decade-long history of love.
This is how it all began.
"We met [at Georgia Southern] back in fall 1998. At a little bar called Dingus Magee’s in Statesboro, Georgia," Bryan told HuffPost. But when he met her, it took him just seconds to realize that Boyer was the one he was meant to grow old with. "It took me eight seconds to figure it out—and it took her about eight years to figure it out," he told The Boot. "I had to drink a lot before I could go talk to her, but I did. Somehow I managed to ease over there and somewhat be charming. It was one of those situations for me, it was like, 'Who is that and how do I go talk to her? And, yep, I'm going to marry that girl.'"
But for "that girl", the experience of their first meeting "terrified" her. Recalling that moment during an episode of Get Real With Caroline Hobby, Boyer said, "I didn't know what the hell was happening. It was my first time in a bar. Luke was the second guy I'd ever kissed in my life, ever. So I meet Luke in a bar, and he's such a big personality that I was just staring at him, like, 'Is this guy for real?' 'Cause he is how he is. It is not fake. It is totally real."
The now 39-year-old mentioned that though Bryan was nervous during their first meeting, he was a true gentleman. So much so that she had to make the first move. "He was always a gentleman," she told People. "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." And soon after their second kiss, they were inseparable.
After about a year and a half of dating, the two split up due to their various projects. “She was three years younger than me in college. I was about done with school when we met. So I kinda went off and did my thing in Nashville and she finished up her college experience and it kinda allowed us to both go get our feet a little firmer on the ground," the American Idol judge told Huff Post.
For about five and a half years, the two stayed apart, even having relationships with others. Fate had other plans in mind though when they were brought together once again in the same town. "I was playing a little bar in Statesboro and she just happened to kinda be in town. We kinda saw each other and talked a little bit and then started emailing back and forth a little bit," the now 43-year-old singer told HuffPost. "And she was like, 'Hey, you want to come to my family’s Christmas party?' I went to the party and the rest is history."
Not too long after, the couple were engaged and then married on December 8, 2006, according to Country Living.
Two years later, the couple had their first child together, Thomas Boyer Bryan (Bo) and in 2010, they welcomed their second son into their family, Tatum Christopher Bryan (Tate). However, their family wasn't just the four of them. When the country singer's sister and brother-in-law passed away, the couple made the laudable decision to adopt their two nieces and one nephew into their tiny world in 2014. "We never thought twice about [adopting the kids]," Boyer said. "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."
Talking to The Boot, the father-of-five revealed that his marriage has its usual ups and downs, but that no matter what, they were always together in the end. "We have a normal marriage. We get into it, we fight, we figure it out, but at the end of the day, we understand that there’s a lot of stuff that comes at us that makes us all crazy, too, so we just try to be normal and enjoy the ride of this," he said. And now 13 years later, we can see that the positive attitude about the issues that come up has certainly worked for them.
The singer even revealed a few of the things that helped the two of them stay in tune. "We have coffee in the morning, just Caroline and me," he said to Good Housekeeping. "It's my favorite time of the day; anytime we can have 30 minutes to talk, it's just great." The Drunk on You singer also added that he gives his loving wife nightly foot rubs before bed, which she calls "the best foot rubs on Earth."
Well, not only does Luke Bryan belt out hit after hit, but he also knows how to be a true and loving husband and family man. Here's to many more years together for the couple.
References:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/luke-bryan_b_1322982
https://theboot.com/luke-bryan-family-2/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/caroline-bryan-wife-of-luke-bryan/id1093664694?i=1000428788264
https://people.com/country/luke-bryans-wife-caroline-jokes-i-had-to-kiss-him-first/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/inspirational-stories/interviews/a19943/luke-bryan-marriage/
