Bryan lost both his brother and sister early in life.
For Luke Bryan, life’s all about family! The 41-year-old country singer opened up to ABC’s Robin Roberts in a Nightline interview about the ups and downs his family has endured through the years.
“I was set to move to Nashville when I was 19. I had it all in line and I had an apartment. Just before I moved to Nashville, my brother was killed in a car accident,” Bryan said of his early loss. “So that totally derailed and postponed my Nashville plans.”
Bryan stayed home instead of moving until his father stepped in.
“My dad could tell that I was one foot in the door and one foot out the door, and he said, ‘This life will always be here.’ He was really, really adamant about me chasing my dreams,” Bryan said. “Just based on what we dealt with my brother we had seen how fragile life was, and you’ve got to go try things. So getting to Nashville was pretty liberating.”
Bryan’s career quickly took off once he got to Nashville. In April 2007, he played the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. It’s a night he’ll always remember, both for the accomplishment and for the fact that it’s the last time he took a photo with his sister.
“She passed away a month later,” Bryan explained. “That’s been one thing about my family and our loss. Just when we started picking up the pieces with my brother, then we lose my sister and I just watch my mother and our whole family go back to square one.”
Bryan’s brother-in-law passed away in 2014, leaving Bryan and his wife, Caroline, to step in and take in the couple’s three children.
“We never thought twice about it. We just did it,” Caroline said of the decision.
“Now we have three children that have lost both their parents so now that becomes our new focus -- to try to navigate and guide them through this life,” Bryan said.
The singer’s real-life losses have connected him with his fans and other people who are grieving.
“I know a lot of people out there that have dealt with loss, you have to honor their memory by living and you have to be a positive light for people,” he said.
Bryan recently spoke with ET about his reaction to the tragic shooting in Las Vegas. See what he had to say below: