The country star and his wife Lauren introduce their daughter, Willa Gray Akins, whom they adopted from Uganda.
- May 13, 2017
AceShowbiz - Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren finally became parents following the arrival of their adopted 18-month old daughter, Willa Gray Akins, on Thursday, May 11. Lauren first met Willa in 2016 during her trip to Uganda with 147 Million Orphans.
When asked how he felt about Willa's arrival, Thomas said it felt like Christmas in May. "On the way to the airport, it was like Christmas Day," he said in an interview with PEOPLE. "It felt like a dream. I've dreamed of us all being on the same continent for so long. It finally feels like everyone is where they're supposed to be," Lauren added.
Thomas decided to bring Willa home after he saw a photo of Lauren holding her. He was amazed at his wife's bond with the baby, who was previously named Blessing. "Lauren had this amazing glow about her and it just felt like she was already our daughter in a weird way," Thomas shared. "I just blurted out, 'We should bring her home.' "
The couple had been trying to conceive to no avail at that time, so they immediately took care of the adoption. The process wasn't easy, both Thomas and Lauren had to make a dozen trips to Uganda in order to make the adoption work.
During the adoption process, they discovered that Lauren was pregnant, meaning they had to finalize the adoption before it became too risky for Lauren to travel. However, she had to return to the States for a pregnancy check-up, so her parents were the ones who brought Willa home. "I probably could have pushed it, but I just didn't want to think something could go wrong with my pregnancy," she said. "It felt weird leaving one daughter and making sure the other one is okay. But I couldn't do it another way."
The pair also shared how it felt to be full-time parents. "It is very weird to be called 'Dad' by a little human being," Thomas admitted, before adding, "But it is one of the coolest feelings in the world. Nothing beats that."
Meet Willa Gray Akins! I can't believe our daughter is finally homeππΌ Thank you to everyone who prayed every single day for this sweet girl pic.twitter.com/ykKFjI83wh
— Thomas Rhett (@ThomasRhett) May 12, 2017