Luke Bryan is more than just a country star and American Idol judge. He’s also a loving parent, husband, and uncle. In 2014, Luke began raising his sister’s son and daughters after tragedy struck the family.
Luke’s sister, Kelly, passed away from unknown causes in 2007 while she was at home with her then-toddler son. Her husband, Ben, went on to raise their three kids, son Til and daughters Kris and Jordan.
“They never determined what happened [to Kelly]. The autopsies, the coroner, no one could figure it out,” Luke told People in 2013. Sadly, in 2014, Ben also died suddenly; he was in a car accident. Til was 16 then, while Kris and Jordan were both college-aged. Luke and Caroline immediately decided to take all three of them in as their own.
“We never thought twice about it,” Caroline told ABC in 2017.
And just like that, Til moved to live with the family in Nashville.
“I woke up one day and I’m raising a teen,” Luke said.
The experience has been a “challenge,” but given the circumstances, it’s also been really positive — and the family wouldn’t have it any other way.
LUKE BRYAN GREW UP WITH TWO SIBLINGS, A BROTHER AND A SISTER, IN RURAL GEORGIA. SADLY, THE STAR’S FAMILY HAS ENDURED MULTIPLE TRAGEDIES OVER THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE.
In 2000, when Luke was a teen, his brother Chris died in a car accident. Seven years later, sister Kelly died unexpectedly of unknown causes, leaving her husband Ben to care for their three children.
After losing both of his siblings and starting his music career in Nashville, Luke married his college sweetheart, Caroline. The two have been married for 11 years now, and they share two children of their own: Thomas Boyer, aka “Bo,” and Tatum Christopher.
But in 2014, another devastating loss struck the family. Luke’s brother-in-law, Ben, also died, leaving his son and two daughters orphaned.
At the time, Til Cheshire was 16 years old. Kris was 19, and Jordan was 22.
CAROLINE SAYS THERE WAS NEVER ANY QUESTION OF WHAT SHE AND LUKE WOULD DO — THEY TOOK IN THE THREE KIDS AS THEIR OWN.
“We never thought twice about it,” she told ABC in 2017. “You know, it was never something that he and I had to sit down and talk about. ‘Should we take this on?’ We just did that.”
It was a major adjustment for the entire family, though. Til came to live with Luke, Caroline, and their two sons in Nashville.
