Willa Gray has it honest. The toddler’s father, Thomas Rhett, explains how, despite his oldest daughter being from another part of the world, she is still southern to the core.
“You don’t have to be from the South to be in the country,” Thomas shares. “There is honestly more country in the world than there is city,” he explains.
Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, adopted Willa Gray from Uganda after visiting the country and falling in love with the toddler. There was a period of constant traveling from the United States to Uganda but, nevertheless, the Rhetts welcomed their daughter home after a rather lengthy adoption process.
“It doesn’t get any countrier than being in Masindi,” Thomas tells PEOPLE of Willa’s hometown. “Everywhere you look is corn or beans, or chicken farms, or cows,” he adds.
“In Uganda, family and religion are super important and music is gigantic,” Thomas explains. “If I just pick up a guitar, Willa starts dancing. It’s in her blood.”
Willa Gray has definitely served as her father’s biggest promoter. Thomas can always count on his little one to spread the word about his upcoming shows.
“The word ‘adopted’ doesn’t even make sense in my head anymore really,” Thomas says of his relationship with his oldest daughter. “I know that it happened and I remember it very vividly, but it kind of feels like she has just always been here,” he gushes. “Even though Willa Gray comes from [a] whole different part of the world, she’s ours and it feels like she never wasn’t.”
Lauren and Thomas Rhett are the proud parents of two children. Stay tuned for more celebrity family news!
Photo: PEOPLE
