Country music good guy Luke Bryan often wears a smile and expresses gratitude about his career. As one of the industry’s most successful stars, he’s got a lot to be thankful for. But the “One Margarita” singer recently shared a more intimate side of his life. In a recent interview, he spoke about his late siblings, admitting their deaths are cause for anxiety, years later.
In 1996, Bryan lost his brother Chris in a car accident. At the time, Bryan was a country music hopeful, on his way to Nashville when he suffered the loss of his big brother. Just 11 years later, he additionally lost his sister, Kelly, unexpectedly.
As if the country music star hadn’t suffered enough tragedy, Bryan also lost his brother-in-law, his sister’s husband, seven years after his sister’s death.
“When you start talking about the loss of siblings and even the loss of my brother-in-law — I mean, he was my brother, he had been in my life since I was 7, 8 years old — and the hesitancy is, gosh, you almost feel anxiety of telling aspects of your life that are so tragic,” Bryan said in the interview.
Additionally, Bryan shared the bittersweet feelings of knowing his family is genuinely proud of him, but they never got to see his success.
In a new docu-series, the Georgia native gets more personal, hoping to connect with fans who’ve also suffered major tragedy. The “Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary” series premiered Friday on IMDb TV, according to the interview.
“I have to remember there are people out there that have gone through similar stuff that I have,” he said. “And so me telling my story of how we get through this as a family, you pray and you feel like you’re going to help some people,” Bryan said.
Luke Bryan and His Wife Step Up
Following both his sister’s and brother-in-law’s deaths, Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline took in the couple’s three children.
“Obviously my nieces and nephew, they didn’t ask for this,” Bryan told PEOPLE magazine in 2015, shortly after Lee’s death. “Their life was amazing before Caroline and I took a more prominent role, even after losing their mother. Now my focus is trying to do what we can to help them.”
The transition was something Bryan said wasn’t meant to replace a parent, but rather be a guiding light. In a time that was admittedly fragile, Bryan and his wife Caroline aimed to keep the memory of the children’s parents alive.
Furthermore, Bryan hopes his docu-series will shed positive memories on his late sister and brother-in-law. He’s anxious how the children, now adults, will react, but recognizes the importance of their documented memories.
