Remember the Sweet Way Thomas Rhett Introduced His Daughter Willa Gray?
Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, gave his fans a sweet surprise on May 12, 2017. The couple, who had previously shared their plans to adopt a child, dropped the news online that they had brought home a little girl — and they shared the sweetest photos while giving shoutouts to those who had helped them along the way.
Rhett turned to Instagram to introduce their new daughter, whom Lauren met during a trip to Uganda. The adorable then-18-month-old girl was met with enthusiasm from Rhett's fans, who had become invested in the couple's adoption story over the course of an arduous year-long process.
"Everyone meet Willa Gray Akins! I can't believe our daughter is finally home," Rhett wrote to accompany the picture. "We have been in this adoption process for what seems like forever and are just so filled with joy that we are all finally home together! Thank you to everyone who prayed every single day for this sweet girl. The Lord blessed us with the most amazing little girl we could have ever dreamed of and we can't wait to watch her grow up!"
Akins thanked everyone who has been involved with the adoption, from the couple's close-knit circle of friends to her parents, who had traveled to Uganda to bring Willa Gray home after Akins learned she was also expecting a biological child and therefore unable to fly.
The couple recalled the exact moment they decided to adopt their first child in an interview with Kelly Clarkson on April 29, 2020, sharing a story that brought her to tears.
"I was so moved. The second I touched her, it was electric," Akins said of meeting baby Willa during a 2016 trip to Uganda. She called Rhett later that night and told him she felt compelled to find the child a "forever home."
"When I talked to her on the phone that night and she said we need to find her a home — it was after a concert and I was going to bed — and I was like, 'We'll bring her home,'" Rhett recalled. "I don't fully remember even saying it. It was such a spiritual thing for me that came out of my body."
The couple welcomed their second daughter, Ada James, in August of 2017, and most recently added a third daughter, Lennon Love, in February of 2020.
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