Morgan Wallen is a dad to 3-year-old son, Indigo (Indie) Wilder, and being a father is the most important role the singer has. In a new interview with Billboard, Wallen opened up about his son, sharing that his son is his “favorite thing about life.”
Wallen’s Thoughts On Fatherhood
“It gives me something to focus on that’s not just all about myself because for a while, I had to be super selfish,” Wallen explained of fatherhood. “I had to mostly focus on myself or [my career] wouldn’t work.” Now that he has Indie, “it’s nice to really think about someone other than yourself and about what you’re passing down. He’s my favorite thing about life.”
Wallen’s booking agent and good friend Austin Neal said, “Having a son really grew him up fast,” and Wallen noted that providing for someone else made him rethink his financial decisions, including getting involved in businesses like real estate and investing, including his new role as investor and brand ambassador with Ryl Tea.
“I like having a bunch of different things for me to focus on. [Otherwise], I’ll get bored,” he explained in the Billboard cover story interview. “I have a lot of opportunities, so I’ve been trying to take them.”
How His Life Has Changed Since Life-Altering Fame
Indie, who is currently into “Anything about a vehicle or any part of it,” according to his dad, is a part of Wallen’s new daily routine, which has changed in the years since he achieved life-altering fame.
“Everything has gotten so, so huge,” he reflected. “I don’t really go to the grocery store [and] I have to go through back doors to go to the doctor and all that kind of stuff [and] I still try to hold on to as much [normalcy] as possible [and] I like driving, so I try to drive as much as I can by myself.” Wallen’s Billboard interview was held after a session of deer hunting, and while the singer washed off the camp face paint he typically wears, he shared that he sometimes leaves it on to “sneak around, just wherever I can go, maybe a Mexican restaurant.”
He added, “I play my shows, I hang out with my son, and I hide pretty much. And I’m OK with that. I’m happy as hell with that.”
Dedicated His Song “Dying Man” To His Son Indigo
Along with being his favorite thing about life these days, Indie also changed Wallen’s life for the better. One song on Wallen’s album, One Thing At A Time, “Dying Man,” follows a character who was certain his poor choices in life would lead to tragedy before he met a woman who turned things around for him, but during an appearance on Country Countdown USA, Wallen explained that in his interpretation of the song, it’s his son who saved him instead of a partner.
“‘Dying Man’ is a song that speaks on – I wasn’t always sure, I guess none of us were, you know? Maybe I thought that I might die sooner than later and then once my son came into the world, I felt like I had a whole new reason to live and stick around,” he said. “This song is talking about a woman, but for me, it’s more to my son than it is to a woman.”
In the bio for the album, Wallen noted that there were “plenty of times” he “should have died” due to his previous behavior. “For some reason, it never really scared me. I don’t know why,” he reflected. “I should have been terrified the next day, but I never was. And then he was born, and he gave me something different to live for. So this song is dedicated to him.”
