Sam Hunt Talks The Reality Check That Came With Becoming A Dad

Sam Hunt dishes on parenthood and how much learning he had to do after he had his daughter Lucy Louise.

If there is one thing that is distinctive about the country superstar; it is how seriously he takes his role as a father since he welcomed his daughter with his wife Hannah Lee Fowler, last year. 

Having been a dad for about a year and awaiting the birth of his second child, Hunt speaks out on his new role as a father and all the sacrifices he had to make to be well prepared.

The Georgia native, who is touring North America, took time to chat with ET Canada's Carlos Bustamante about touring with his family, his fatherhood role, and what his one-year-old kid thinks of his country tunes.

More importantly, while maintaining one of country music's most successful music careers, he talks about how becoming a father has put things in perspective for him. "Getting thrown into a unique reality at the age of 28 or so, it grew me up in a lot of ways, and I think it stunted my growth in a lot of ways," Hunt said of his budding music career.

"There were years where maybe I didn't realize how much growing up I had needed to do. And having a child forces you to do that," Hunt elaborated. He continued saying, "It shifts something in your nervous system. There's a skin that I needed to shed, and I did when I had my child." 

"I was just at a place in my life where I really needed that, and I'm grateful for it," the 38-year-old star explained, adding, "I feel like I leveled up in a lot of ways, and now I can see I've got a long way to go in general now, but I feel up for the challenge."

The "Montevallo" singer emphasized that "more purpose and meaning" have been attached to his success because he "has a family to come home to."

Speaking of adding more meaning to his life, the "Leave the Night On" hitmaker will soon become a father of two. In April, he made the revelation at his recent concert at the Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas. At the time, an attendee at the concert confirmed the singer also said Fowler and Lucy would attend his next show.

Per reports, Hunt apprised his fans of his and Fowler's pregnancy with Lucy, similarly to their second baby's announcement. The "Take Your Time" crooner shared the news during a performance at Nashville's Stars for Second Harvest show.

He told the audience, "I recently had a baby girl named Lucy Lu. Being out here — in the music business and on the road — has hardened my heart. My heart's been a lot harder since I left that small town."

Hunt then said that having Lucy in his life has melted away his hard heart over a "couple of weeks." "I've been filled with a lot of gratitude these past couple of weeks, and I just want to say up here on The Ryman stage how grateful I am to have been a part of country music for the last ten years," he added.

With Hunt and Fowler's second child underway, it is acute to refresh fans on the couple's history. The pair reportedly met sometime in 2008 and dated off and on for a few years. Sometime after, they eventually split but got back together in 2016. Hunt told ET:

"I think last summer I went out [to Hawaii] about seven times in about three months. Trying to talk to her about coming back. And [on] the seventh trip, I convinced her."

In early 2017, a rep confirmed that the lovebirds had engaged. The "Make You Miss Me" singer revealed they "got engaged over by the Sea of Galilee." That same year, on April 15, 2017, Hunt and Fowler officially tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Georgia.

Afterward, Fowler filed for divorce in February 2022. However, two months later, she asked the court to dismiss the case, and a judge signed off on her request. During this tumultuous time, she was pregnant with their baby girl and delivered sometime in May.

Hunt shared the news publicly on June 7. The couple, as reported previously, is counting down the days till they become parents of two.