Chris Stapleton is one of the most revered singer-songwriters in modern country music. A former frontman of bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, Stapleton became a mainstream country star with the release of his debut solo album, Traveller, in May 2015— an ascent sped up by an iconic cover of "Tennessee Whiskey." The Kentucky native has since released three more albums, earned a total of eight platinum-certified singles and won countless awards, including eight Grammys.
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Although Chris is a superstar, he's a very private person. He married his wife Morgane Stapleton (née Hayes) in 2007. A fellow country singer, Morgane almost always sings with her husband on tour and at awards shows. The Nashville power couple has five children together, and although they don't share much about their family life, here's an overview of the Stapleton family's kids.
His Eldest Children, Ada and Wayland
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His two eldest children, daughter Ada and son Wayland (spelled by some reputable sources as Waylon), have stepped out to attend public events with their famous dad a handful of times. The siblings made their red carpet debut in June 2019, attending the premiere of Toy Story 4 with their parents. Chris recorded a song called "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" for the film's soundtrack.
Three years later, Wayland and Ada hit the red carpet yet again — this time accompanying both their mom and dad at the 2022 ACM Awards in Las Vegas. The two had grown up a bit since their first public appearance, and they were both outfitted in suits to match Chris and Morgane. The siblings were shown onscreen when Stapleton accepted his award for Male Artist of the Year, and the singer thanked them for being there. He also revealed in his acceptance speech that Wayland was celebrating his 13th birthday on the night of the awards. He did not share the age of his daughter, Ada, but some outlets have reported the siblings to be around two years apart, which would make her about 15.
Stapleton revealed their ages as of 2020 in a statement from UMG Nashville during which he discussed his COVID-19 lockdown experience.
The silver lining and the mixed blessing during the pandemic for me is I've gotten to spend more time being a dad and being with my children than I've ever gotten to do certainly as a touring musician," he shared. "I have three children under the age of three and I have two older ones that are 12 and 10. When I go in to get the boys in the morning, and I open the door, they say 'Daddy' before I even open the door, and I've never really had that before. So, that's kind of a neat thing for me to get to have that, so I'm thankful for that and I'm grateful for that. As much as I look forward to getting back out on the road, I'll miss a little bit of that."
His Twin Boys, Macon and Samuel
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In addition to Wayland and Ada, Chris and Morgane have twin boys who were born in April 2018. Morgane announced they were expecting two new additions in her 10-year wedding anniversary post to Chris in October 2017. She wrote, "14 years, 2 babies, & 2 more on the way. Happy 10 year anniversary babe! You make my whole world go round."
Chris was over the moon upon learning that his wife was expecting twins.
"I think I laughed for about 20 minutes straight when they told us. I was just shocked," he told Today's Willie Geist. "I didn't know what else to do. ... I was in shock. Shocked is the only word."
Due to the twins' impending arrival, Chris and Morgane were unable to attend the 2018 ACM Awards where Chris won Album of the Year and Male Artist of the Year. He also got another gift that night: in the middle of the awards show, host Reba McEntire came onstage to announce that Chris and Morgane had welcomed twin boys. The "Starting Over" singer also celebrated his 40th birthday that night.
Morgane later revealed in an Instagram post that the twins were born more than a month early and they stayed in the hospital for a week. She never revealed the twins' names, but Taste of Country has reported their names as Macon and Samuel.
Baby Number Five
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Only seven months after Chris and Morgane welcomed their twin boys, the singer revealed that they were expecting another baby. At a show at Madison Square Garden in November 2018, he announced the happy news.
"Some of you may know that we have four children," he said, according to People. "We just had twins, about seven months ago. Now there's four for us, but we're gonna make it five!"
The family welcomed its fifth child in May 2018, and Morgane announced his or her arrival with a post on Mother's Day showing the baby holding her finger. She wrote, "The most perfect Mother's day...I wish all you mama's the happiest of days today!" She posted another photo of their new baby later that month, revealing that the baby is another boy. The couple have not yet revealed their youngest child's name.
In Feb. 2023, Chris appeared and performed at the 2023 Grammy Awards, which aired live a week before his coveted gig as the national anthem singer at the Super Bowl.
This story was previously published on Nov. 8, 2022.
