One-half of multi-Grammy award-winning duo turned "The Voice" co-coaches Dan + Shay, Shay Mooney has a family of four with his wife, Hannah Billingsley, and their three sons: Asher James, Ames Alexander and Abram Shay.
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For the uninitiated, Mooney was born on Dec. 27, 1991 and raised in Natural Dam, Ark. He began writing songs and playing guitar as a teenager. He left Valley Forge Christian College after only one year to pursue his music career. Mooney's first record deal —with T. Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment— was as a solo artist.
The other half of Dan + Shay, Dan Smyers was playing in emo bands before he met Mooney. The future bandmates met at Dec. 2012 party at Smyers' house. The following day, the pair began their songwriting relationship. Beyond writing songs they cut themselves, Smyers and Mooney penned two Rascal Flatts songs: "Back to Life" and "I Like the Sound of That."
Fast-forward to Oct. 13, 2013, when Dan + Shay released their first single: Top 10 country hit "19 You + Me." In the coming years, the group became country radio and award show mainstays, with their main accomplishment being three consecutive Grammy wins: Best Country Duo Group Performance for "Tequila," "Speechless" and the Justin Bieber collaboration "10,000 Hours."
Even with those and more accomplishments to their credit, Dan + Shay's crowning achievement may be yet to come. On Feb. 26, 2024, Smyers and Mooney will debut as the first-ever coach tandem on "The Voice."
Within Dan + Shay, Mooney sings, plays piano and guitar and co-writes songs with Smyers.
As for Billingsley, she's a former Miss Arkansas and competed in 2013 for Miss USA. You may have seen her in the "10,000 Hours" music video. She currently hosts the podcast "Unexpected with Hannah Love."
Read on for a timeline of Mooney and Billingsley's love story.
Dating (2015 - 2016)
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Mooney and Billingsley first met online. They had friends in common, leading to their initial digital connection. After texting back and forth for a while, Billingsley attended a Dan + Shay concert in Fayetteville, Ark., where she lived at the time.
Four days later, the future couple went on a proper date to George's Majestic Lounge (per (Arkansas Bride), and Mooney invited Billingsley to join him at that year's ACM Awards in Dallas.
From there, the couple became inseparable.
"Shay is everything I never knew I needed," Billingsley told Arkansas Bride. "I truly never imagined being with a man in the music industry, so it took me some time to come around. . But God had other plans. Shay was and is patient as the day is long and makes me laugh at every turn. He's my person. I love him more than words can express."
Engagement (2016)
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When it came time to propose, Mooney recruited friends and family to take part in a grand, romantic gesture.
Mooney popped the question in Arkansas on Aug. 9, 2016. After Billingsley said "yes," Mooney drove her to a stone chapel, where loved ones were on hand for a secret wedding.
"From the very first time I saw her, I knew I wanted to marry her," Mooney told People. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, so I had to lock it down. She's my better —and much better-looking— half."
Parenthood (2016 - 2020)
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Before their official wedding (the 2016 ceremony remained a private matter for years), Mooney and Billingsley became parents for the first time. Asher James Mooney was born on Jan. 24, 2017.
"It's hard to describe the love you feel for the first time when you hold your child," Mooney wrote on Instagram (as quoted by Life & Style). "I will never be the same. Asher James, I promise to be the father you deserve. And Hannah, I promise to be the husband you want and need. I love you both so much. You've given me everything I never knew I needed."
A second son, Ames Alexander Mooney, followed in 2020.
"2/21/20 Ames Alexander, welcome to the Mooney family. Asher has been so excited to meet you, 'baby brover.' You are already so loved," Mooney wrote on Instagram. "I'm so proud to be your dad. And you have have the best momma on planet earth. Yesterday, Asher asked Hannah when baby brother's mom was gonna come pick him up and take him to his house...so we might be in for a slight rude awakening. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes."
The family grew to five in 2023 with the birth of Abram Shay Mooney.
"Grateful doesn't begin to cover it," reads the caption of an Instagram video in which Mooney sings to his newborn.
"First song sang to the newest family member... Abram Shay, you're so loved and so prayed over, baby boy," wrote Billingsley in her post of the same video. "Thankful for all that God has done for us this week."
Seeing Billingsley interact with their kids has only made Mooney love her even more.
"Watching you with our babies is truly inspiring," he wrote on Instagram. "You're beautiful, patient, kind and lead with a love only a momma has. I'm so proud of all you've done, but I'm most proud of how you love our boys. Whatever this life has in store I'm ready."
Marriage (2017)
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A more official wedding fell on Oct. 20, 2017. The ceremony was held on the Mooney family's Arkansas farm. Then 9-month-old Asher was in the wedding, as was Smyers and Dan + Shay's guitarist, Justin Richards.
"It was so special for us to be able to marry there, on the land where we were raised," Billingsley told Arkansas Bride. "Rolling hills, stretching valleys and miles of untouched forests. These things all meant home to us. And that was what we wanted... to repeat our vows at home amongst the people who love us most."
After the wedding, the newlywed honeymooned in Cancun, Mexico.
Recent Developments (2024)
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In their six-plus years of marriage, Mooney has excelled in his career, landing his "The Voice" gig and pivoting toward a folksier, more traditionally country sound with Smyers on the 2023 album Bigger Houses. Billingsley has made moves of her own, most notably the launch of her podcast. In addition, she and Smyers' wife, Abby, played a role in keeping Dan + Shay from splitting up ahead of Bigger Houses.
Additionally, family inspired Mooney to drop 50 pounds in a year.
"I was like, 'Man, I'm tired of feeling horrible all the time.' I was too tired and rundown mentally to play with my kids when I got off the road, or really just ever. It was all the time," he told People in September of 2023. "I knew that that was because of my unhealthy eating habits and drinking too much. I started eating super clean, whole foods and fasting, and I cut out alcohol, and I haven't looked back. That was a year ago now."
