Walker Hayes' fairytale love story with his wife Laney Beville Hayes began in elementary school, with their first date coming as high school students. Fast-forward to 2022, and the parents of six have been wed for 18 years.
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"She found a picture I drew of her when I was a senior and she was a freshman in college," the country singer said during an appearance on The Bobby Bones Show. "I drew her a picture of our first date because we went on a Genie at a construction site. We popped it up high in the sky and sat there and talked for hours."
Meet Walker Hayes' Wife, Laney Beville Hayes
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The "Y'all Life" singer was very nervous to speak to his future wife, who was a popular cheerleader, until they both performed in a high school production of Little Shop of Horrors. In short, Laney fell in love with Walker's voice for the first time.
Seven years later, the Tennessee-via-Alabama couple married on June 12, 2004.
The couple suffered a tragedy in 2018 after their seventh child and fourth daughter, Oakleigh Klover Hayes, died hours after her birth on June 6 after Laney suffered a uterine rupture.
According to the "You Broke Up With Me" singer, they had always planned to have four children but decided to add to the family. They currently have three boys and three girls: Lela, Chapel, Baylor, Beckett Loxley and Everly.
As the whole world learned through the meteoric rise of Grammy-nominated song "Fancy Like," the social media-savvy Hayes family are among country music's most influential TikTok dance choreographers.
In 2005, Hayes moved to Nashville after signing a record deal with Mercury Records but was dropped shortly after. Family support pulled the singer-songwriter through these challenging times.
Famously, rhymes about Applebee's and Oreo shakes changed Walker's country star forecast in the buildup to Country Stuff: The Album. Yet family remains first for one of CMT's Artists of the Year, with the whole eight-person crew hitting the road together for tour earlier in 2022.
"Don't Let Her"
For a 15th anniversary surprise, Walker wrote a very personal country song which quickly became a fan favorite. "Don't Let Her" can be described as a love letter for Laney, as the singer speaks to another significant other in a scenario where something happened to Walker. He sings, "We always said we'd go together/ But if I'm just half of her forever/ This goes out to whoever/ Takes my place." The singer also released a music video of the song which stars the whole family.
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This article previously ran in September of 2021.
