Luke Combs is a well-known musician in the country music industry, weaving the sound of Nashville into his albums. In addition to his success in Music City, he’s enjoying a loving marriage to his wife, Nicole Combs.
Before Luke met his spouse, he had left everything behind in North Carolina and moved to Tennessee in pursuit of country music stardom. Nicole lived in Nashville and worked for BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) — and the rest was honky tonk history. Just a few years later, the couple would be walking down the red carpet at the ACM Awards and making fans swoon with their romance.
The pair’s love story started at a songwriters’ festival in Nicole’s home state of Florida in 2016. Now, they are a staple of the modern country music scene. Nicole inspired many of her husband’s biggest (and most romantic) hits, including “Better Together,” “Nothing Like You” and “Beautiful Crazy.”
The couple got engaged in 2018 and exchanged vows in 2020. Two years later, they welcomed their first son, Tex Lawrence.
Scroll down as we dive deeper into the relationship that gave country lovers the song “Forever After All.”
2016 to 2017
The Nashville transplants met at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, before their romance truly blossomed in the city they each called home. Nicole spotted Luke across the crowd at the event, inviting him over to hang out with her friends.
In an interview with Nashville Lifestyles, Luke shared, “I could tell she was different than anybody I had ever met.” Once they returned home to Nashville, they talked for a while before jumping into a relationship.
“I realized we could hang out and just be ourselves in front of each other,” Nicole told Nashville Lifestyles. “I could wear no makeup and be my weird self — because we’re all weird, but we get to choose who to share that side of us with. We could be each other’s weird in front of each other. That’s when it was like, ‘You know what? This guy’s a keeper.’”
At that point, Combs was still “a starving artist,” Nicole recalled. He had no major hit songs, no record deal and no Grammy nominations.
For the Florida Coast University alum, that was more than enough. Still, the musician felt he had to put in the work to fully win Nicole’s heart.
Combs wrote the song “Beautiful Crazy” for her early on in their courtship, and they kept that song between the two of them for a couple of years before its 2017 release.
Luke previously scored his big break with his song “Hurricane,” which charted for a short time throughout 2015 and into 2016, catching the attention of country music news hub Sounds Like Nashville, who went on to include him in their 2016 “Artists to Watch” list.
Columbia Nashville (a subsidiary of Sony Music Nashville) caught wind of his talent and signed the rising country artist in October 2016. The label re-released “Hurricane,” which had only been available on iTunes until then.
By May 2017, the debut single hit No. 1 on the charts for two consecutive weeks, making Luke the first male solo artist to have a multi-week No. 1 debut single since Darius Rucker in 2008, per Vulture.
2018 to 2020
Fast forward a couple of years and Luke had achieved country music stardom — with Nicole by his side.
On November 29, 2018, the crooner announced that he proposed to his longtime love … and she said yes! The duo shared the happy news via celebratory Instagram posts while on vacation in Hawaii, even though the actual proposal happened weeks prior when the couple moved into their new home.
Shortly after going public with their engagement, the twosome decided to let the world finally hear their private love song “Beautiful Crazy” — and it rocked the country world.
Luke officially released the romantic music video for streaming the same week the duo’s engagement made headlines. Their sweet serenade touched the hearts of millions, even winning Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards in 2019. Amid the excitement, the biggest relationship milestone for the couple was a millennial right of passage — adopting a dog together. The pair welcomed a puppy named Jojo in 2019.
More than four years into their relationship, Luke and Nicole tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on the beach in southern Florida on August 1, 2020.
“Yesterday was the best day of my life. I got to marry my best friend. I love you @nicohocking, here’s to forever,” the songwriter gushed via Instagram after the nuptials.
The ceremony was a private confession of their love for one another, but Luke singing “Better Together” at the Academy of Country Music Awards was a much more public one. That night, he took home Album Of The Year for “What You See Is What You Get,” as well as “Best Male Vocalist,” and Nicole celebrated alongside him.
2021 to Present
Marriage wasn’t all smooth sailing for the lovebirds. When Luke forgot to thank his wife at the 2021 CMA Awards when he won Entertainer of the Year, the moment quickly went viral, but the blunder held no hidden meaning. The North Carolina native was clearly in shock after his name was announced.
He amended his mistake during his post-acceptance interview with Access, explaining he just forgot in the heat of the moment. He continued, “I love you, [Nicole], you know I love you. I don’t even have to say it, you know I love you.”
The beginning of 2022 marked a lot of excitement when the newlyweds announced they were expecting their first child. The good news came via Instagram, with Luke revealing, “Here we go y’all! Lil dude Combs is coming this Spring! Couldn’t be more excited to start a family with this babe. It’s gonna be a hell of a ride.”
Six months later, the couple’s special day finally arrived, and they welcomed their baby boy into the world. Son Tex Lawrence Combs (named after Luke’s great-uncle) was born on June 19, 2022. What better day to make a man a father than on Father’s Day?
November 2022
The married couple were all smiles on the 2022 CMA Awards red carpet
