Luke Combs has been building his incredibly successful career as a country artist over the past five years, but off the stage, he's also been building his family life. In 2020, Combs married his longtime girlfriend, Nicole, and they gave birth to their first child -- a boy named Tex Lawrence -- in June 2022.
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Combs and his wife announced they were expecting in Jan. 2022 with a series of photos on social media. One photo specifically showed the couple standing with an ultrasound photo and showing off Nicole's baby bump. The singer expressed his excitement in the caption, saying that "Lil dude Combs" would make his arrival in the spring.
"Couldn't be more excited to start a family with this babe," he wrote. "It's gonna be a hell of a ride @nicolejcombs."
The couple announced in March 2023 that a second son is on the way, with the expected delivery date in September making Tex just 15 months older than his younger sibling (or, as Combs puts it, they'll be the 2 Under 2 Club).
"It was a bit of a shock but I've been getting A LOT of encouraging DMs from people who have children similar months apart," Hocking wrote in an Instagram story (as shared by Taste of Country). "It's really gotten me more & more excited. I hope they're best friends like my sister and I."
Preparing for Fatherhood
Luke Combs and Nicole Hocking seen during the The 54th Annual CMA Awards at Nashville's Music City Center on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for CMA)
Throughout Nicole's pregnancy, Combs was open about his preparation for fatherhood, including some of the aspects that he was nervous about. At a Grand Ole Opry appearance in Feb. 2022, Combs admitted that he was a bit overwhelmed at the amount of things he needed to learn to prepare for fatherhood.
"I got a lot of stuff to do," he said, according to People. "I got a lot on my plate ... I'm uncovering things every day. I'm buying all kinds of clothes I didn't know existed."
"It's a lot of stuff man," he continued. "I didn't know what a bassinet was. But that's a thing apparently. A lot of new words I'm learning."
He also shared that he reached out to fellow artists and friends who are dads for their help and advice, and he concluded that, in the newborn days, his role would mainly be as a support to his wife.
"It's more like, 'What do I need to be doing right now?'" he said. "I realized the baby just doesn't need me at all. I'm just there to clean stuff. ... It comes out and it's like, 'Why are you mouth breathing all over me? I don't need you to be around.'"
Before welcoming his baby, Combs had reflections about the kind of dad he wanted to be. As a touring musician, there are stretches of time when Combs isn't home very often, but the singer says he wants to minimize that as much as possible now that he he has a son. He truly wants to be there for his son and play in active role in his life.
"I don't want to be a dad that's not around or the dad that you see on TV and go, 'Oh, that is my dad, and that is where he is today I guess,'" Combs once told Absolute Radio Country (quote via CMT). "Family is important to me. I'd like to be the guy throwing the football to them."
Fatherhood Changed His Life
Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA
Even with all the preparation Combs did while awaiting his son's arrival, nothing can prepare someone for how they will feel when their child eventually enters the world. Combs learned that feeling firsthand when he welcomed his son, Tex Lawrence. Talking with CMT in October, Combs said that having his son completely changed his life.
"It's amazing," Combs said. "It really is. It's totally different. Your life just completely changes. People say that all the time, and it probably sounds like the most cliche thing in the entire world, but it's really true. It's just really like, instantly. Everything's completely different."
He went on to say that he doesn't even mind changing diapers or doing some of the less pleasant duties of parenthood because he's doing it for his own child. However, that's not to say that becoming a first-time dad has been a breeze for Combs. He told Taste of Country that there have certainly been challenges throughout the process.
"The most challenging is just jumping into it," he said. "There's no warm-up period. It's like getting thrown into a pool and you don't know how to swim. I would compare it to that. That's the most challenging."
He and Nicole are also still working on how to do it all with Combs' busy touring schedule, but, he says, the good parts of parenting certainly outweigh the challenges.
"I would just say, really, it's like the little things that are the biggest reward. Like when he does something for the first time. Just really when they smile at you, honestly," he says.
As of May 2023, the couple has yet to announce its second-born child's name.
