Surprise! 'Rich Men' Singer Oliver Anthony Is Married, With Kids

Oliver Anthony, family man? The "Rich Men of North Richmond" singer (real name Christopher Lunsford) is allowing a glimpse into his personal life and shares that it's not just the three dogs that live with him in a camper in Virginia.

Anthony has a wife and two kids, with another on the way. However, it's not all good cheer and smiles in Lunsfordland.

The music video for "Rich Men North or Richmond" has passed 46 million views on YouTube.
Anthony has performed live three times since his viral fame, with five more shows scheduled for September and October.
Last Monday (Aug. 21), his song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Who Is Oliver Anthony's Wife?

Interviews with Anthony have been scarce, but after a show last week in Virginia, he talked to the Free Press, an L.A.-based media company founded by former New York Times culture writer Bari Weiss. The full article is behind a paywall, but reveals a bit about the singer's family life, including that he's married with kids. The New York Post adds that his wife's name is Tiffany.

Small details like this help round out the personality of a thus-far enigmatic character. With "Rich Men ..." Anthony seemingly appeared out of nowhere, even though he'd been writing and recording music for several years.

These new details also add a small amount of context to his passion for children and treating children properly, as displayed in the "minors" lyrics of his song, and in video conversations that followed.

The meat of the Free Press profile focuses on his life before fame. Anthony says he felt his body was so broken that he began recording his songs as a way to have his legacy after an inevitable death. At 31 years old, he's lived a hard life that included a job in a North Carolina paper mill and a skull fracture in 2013. Drinking and marijuana further eroded his quality of life, he says. This all stemmed from, or led to, a crippling depression.

The family still lives in a 27-foot camper with a tarp on the roof, although it sounds as if the land it sits on is paid off.

Country Stars and the Songs They Regret, Resent or Apologized For

It's rare to hear a country star confess to hating a song they've recorded, but it has happened. This list includes several apologies, quite a bit of ambivalence and at least once complicated instance when love for a song died with love for a man.

A few on this list are more nuanced: Thomas Rhett, for example, probably doesn't really "hate" "Crash and Burn," but for a few months, he seemed to. Gretchen Wilson admits to coming to love a song she once fought against recording, and a major country group just re-cut a song they burned out on in the early 2000s.

Scroll down to find our list of 10 songs that country artists regret or resent, and the explanations why.

The Best Oliver Anthony Songs — His Entire Catalog, Ranked

A chronological listen of Oliver Anthony's songs shows a longterm effort to massage the themes present in "Rich Men of North Richmond." Fans will also find he's capable of so much more than being a blue collar folk hero.

The best Oliver Anthony songs are dynamic and complete. They also hold true to the buoyant optimism he speaks of during candid conversations on his YouTube page. Hope isn't always present, however — tracks released in late summer 2022 find the Virginia-raised singer on a dark path, singing of heartbreak and suicide. You can hear and see (if there's video) the strains of life across his face.

Taste of Country ranked all 16 songs Anthony has released so far. Most are cell phone recordings, but we didn't hold a lack of production quality against him. Instead, each song is rated based on strength of message, originality and overall appeal. "Rich Men ..." ranks third, which is not a criticism of his debut hit as much as it is praise of two other mostly unheard-of songs.

Filed Under: Oliver Anthony