How Being A Dad Changed The Way Country Music Star Thomas Rhett Eats - Exclusive
For years, Thomas Rhett has been a familiar sight on the red carpet at the American Country Music Awards–and almost always with his wife, Lauren Akins, by his side. Why was she missing from last week's ACM event? Let's just say Akins was otherwise occupied –- with a newborn, a two-year-old, four-year-old, and six-year-old, it's an understatement to say she's got her hands full.
When Rhett's not performing his tunes in front of a televised audience of millions, recording his new album, "Where We Started," or starring in the first Fritos commercial filmed in 20 years, you could say he's up to his eyeballs in parenting, too. As Rhett explained in an exclusive interview with Mashed, his house full of young children has turned his whole life upside down–especially when it comes to his eating habits. "Most of my eating is on the go these days," he said, confessing that there have been times when his breakfast consists of "a bag of gummies that have been left in my truck for six weeks. I'm like, 'Oh, I'll eat that today.' I do my best to eat good and clean, but there are definitely times where I'm trying to get something on the go."
Here's why mornings are so hectic for Thomas Rhett and his family
Being a parent is a 24/7 job, but Rhett said it's most difficult in the morning, when he's tasked with getting his kids ready for school. Wondering what a country music legend puts in his kids' school lunch boxes? Rhett confessed he gets his guidance from his wife. "When I wake up in the mornings to make the kid's lunches — I wouldn't do this — my wife loves to take cookie cutters. If I make a turkey sandwich, or a peanut butter sandwich, we'll stamp the sandwich with a heart or a rainbow," he explained. "I find myself crushing the outer areas of the sandwich at six o'clock in the morning."
If this sounds hectic to you, Rhett insists these early A.M. sandwich-making sessions have nothing on the chaos that befalls the family when there's an illness to grapple with. "Goodness gracious — when all four kids, including me and Lauren, have been all sick at the same time with different things," it's been overwhelming, Rhett said. "One's got a stomach virus, or one's got a cough, and one's got a fever. It is like, because you don't want any of your family to come over and help because you don't want anyone else to get sick," he added. "You're like, 'I don't want to get off the couch right now,' but everyone needs something from me or something from Lauren. When everyone's sick, it's survival mode at that point. That would be the craziest bit of parenting for us, for sure."
Watch Thomas Rhett star in the new Fritos commercial on YouTube. To keep up with Thomas' adventures as a dad and performer, follow him on Instagram.