Thomas Rhett is a proud father of four little girls and a loving husband to wife, Lauren Akins. As a country star, he often shines the light on the best parts of his family life. But, even though he appears to have it all together at home, there was a time when it seemed like everything was falling apart around him.
Unbeknownst to Rhett and his wife, Akins had been struggling with postpartum depression shortly after giving birth to the couple’s fourth child, Lillie Carolina, in November of 2021.
Postpartum depression (PPD) or peripartum depression, is not often talked about in the media, but, according to Mayo Clinic, the medical illness is a more severe, long-lasting form of depression in comparison to the more common ‘baby blues’ that is associated with pregnancy.
Watch Lauren Akins’ Podcast With Thomas Rhett Below
Symptoms of PPD may include: a depressed mood or severe mood swings, crying spells, difficulty bonding with your baby, loss of appetite or eating much more than usual, inability to sleep, sleeping too much, and much more.
During a special episode of the Live in Love With Lauren Akins podcast on June 13, in which the couple co-hosted together, Rhett and Akins, who also share daughters, Willa Gray, 7, Ada James, 5, and Lennon Love, 3, opened up about their scary experience with PPD. They recounted in detail how the medical illness affected their daily lives.
“After Lillie, I do remember it was scary for me, and there’s not many people you can talk to about that with because you don’t want it to sound like you’re gossiping behind your wife’s back,” Rhett said, according to Audacy. “It’s not like you want to call a buddy and be like, ‘Hey, my wife is acting super strange.’”
“It Felt Like A Hopeless Place For Me”
“Lifeless is not the right word, but along the lines of dull,” he added, of when he didn’t know what his wife was truly going through, “It felt like a hopeless place for me. There was this loneliness about her, and she’s not lonely. There was this un-peace about her, and she’s a peaceful person. So it was like, every attribute about her was the complete 180 of herself, and I had never experienced that before.”
Although PPD can sneak up on mothers during pregnancy and after giving birth, treatment options are available. They include therapy or medication. For Akins, part of her treatment involved spending quality time with and confiding in her circle of friends and attending joint counseling meetings with Rhett. Akins also shared that she noticed a difference in her experience of giving birth to Lillie in comparison to the times she had her other girls. She realized quickly that this experience was unlike anything she had ever dealt with before.
“After Ada James, our marriage had a falling apart [and] After Lennon, the world had a falling apart,” Akins remembers, referring to the pandemic. “After Lillie, I had a falling apart.”
“In the back of my mind, I was like, ‘This is not normal. I have experienced birthing children before, and I’ve not felt this,” she continued. “Having that community that you know and trust is crucial because then you know that they are coming from such a place of truth and loving you (that) you don’t get offended by very much. We had a lot of people walk through that with us, and I’m grateful for all of those people.”
Speak Out About Her Experience With It To Help Others
Luckily, Lauren Akins is on the other side of PPD and can openly speak out about her experience to help others suffering from the illness, which affects approximately 15 percent of all women who give birth.
Additionally, Thomas Rhett is currently on the road as part of his Home Team Tour, which kicked off in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 4, and wraps up in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 29.