Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren adopted Willa Gray in May 2017. Though born in Masindi, Uganda, the country star says his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter is as country as they come.
âIt doesnât get any countrier than being in Masindi. Everywhere you look is corn or beans, or chicken farms, or cows,â he says in a recent interview with PEOPLE.
âIn Uganda, family and religion are super important and music is gigantic,â the 28-year-old adds. âIf I just pick up a guitar, Willa starts dancing. Itâs in her blood.â
Though the couple adopted their daughter, Thomas sometimes forgets that detail. âThe word âadoptedâ doesnât even make sense in my head anymore really,â he admits. âI know that it happened and I remember it very vividly, but it kind of feels like she has just always been here. Even though Willa Gray comes from [a] whole different part of the world, sheâs ours and it feels like she never wasnât.â
Three short months after bringing Willa home, Lauren gave birth to the couple's second daughter Ada James, who just turned 1, and the sisters instantly became "two peas in a pod getting into all kinds of trouble together.â His children sparked the inspiration for Thomas' latest single, "Life Changes."
Willa and Ada get to see their daddy play the song live, too. Both girls have been on tour with him, which is something Thomas has always dreamed of. âProbably as early as high school, I thought if I had kids and I got to tour one day that Iâd want my kids to be a full part of that touring life,â he recalls.
The proud papa strives to raise his children to love where they're from and embrace their diversity.
âI hope God has given me all the right tools to raise Willa Gray to know that no matter where she comes from, she is our child, and that we want her to express her diversity,â Thomas says. âSheâs from Tennessee and sheâs from Uganda, and I want her to be proud of that.â
âI hope that we can raise both of our children to be super proud of who they are and where they come from â and that they know me and Lauren love them beyond anything else that exists in this world," he adds. "I hope we can just raise good, kind kids."
Photo: Getty Images