In one of the few somber moments during a live taping of the Got It From My Momma podcast at Nashville’s CMA Fest last week, Luke Bryan’s mother LeClaire remembered the moment when her country star son and his wife Caroline adopted their nieces, Jordan and Kris, and nephew Til after both the children’s parents died.
“Oh, it was just amazing. I mean, what do you do?” LeClaire told podcast host Jennifer Vickery Smith, as Caroline Bryan sat by her side. “And they literally just [said], ‘Here we are, let’s keep it all together. I mean, everybody was so heartbroken, and thank the good Lord that Luke and Caroline literally just opened up their home and their hearts and took ’em in.”
The country superstar is known both for massive country hits and for his fun-loving, good-time antics, but his family has endured more than its share of tragedy. Bryan’s older sister, Kelly, suddenly died of unknown causes in 2007, leaving behind her husband Ben Lee Cheshire and their three children. Seven years later, in late 2014, Cheshire died, leaving the kids — then 20-year-old Jordan, 16-year-old Kris and 13-year-old Til — without any living parents.
Bryan and Caroline stepped in, adopting the kids and raising them alongside their own two sons, Tate and Bo. Press play on the video below to watch LeClaire reflect on the tragic moments when she lost her daughter and, later, saw Bryan step in to raise the kids.
Elsewhere in the conversation, LeClaire and Caroline explained that they now have matching tattoos on their wrists in honor of Kelly.
“Red birds,” LeClaire shared. “[For] my daughter that’s passed away.”