Lambert dished on being happier than she ever thought she could be, posting shirtless videos of McLoughlin & her new album, 'Wildcard.'
After being dealt her share of “wildcards” in love and life over the years, Miranda Lambert says her “always smiling” husband, Brendan McLoughlin, has brought her a level of joy she never knew existed.
The 35-year-old singer announced she had secretly tied the knot in February, and nine months later, she couldn’t stop gushing about the hunky NYPD officer while talking to ET’s Rachel Smith at her Wildcard album launch party at the iHeart Radio Theatre in New York on Friday.
“It's really good to be genuinely happy,” she said when asked how McLoughlin, 29, has brought joy into her life. “You almost don't realize that you're not until you get there and you're like, ‘Man, I didn't know that there was a level of comfort and happiness out there that existed like that.’”
“He's a really positive, upbeat person, so that's good for me because I tend to lean negative -- we Scorpios do -- so we're a good balance,” she added. “He keeps me in check. He's just normal and cool and always smiling. [When] someone’s that happy, there's no choice but to [be happy too] and it's really great.”
While McLoughlin is making Lambert happy, her fans are meanwhile getting their own joy out of McLoughlin -- and his abs! The songstress has previously posted videos of the New York policeman doing chores, shirtless, captioning one post, “House husband shirtless promo volume 1.”
“I posted him and it blew up,” she laughed. “I'm like, ‘Honey, people love you.’”
“He does it all,” she added about her chore-friendly husband, “Laundry... it's great. I lucked out!”
So, will McLoughlin and his abs be appearing in any of Lambert’s music videos?
“I should … I mean, he's a video babe, isn't he?” she said.
Chances are there will be plenty of music video opportunities now that Lambert has released her new album, Wildcard.
The album came out on Nov. 1 and its title is reflected in a tattoo she got a year ago.
“I got a tattoo last October of the wildcard,” she said, referring to the Queen of Hearts playing cards. “[It’s] a reminder that I'm queen of my own heart and I pulled out a few wildcards in my life so far -- whether it's relationships or getting out of something that's bad for you, going with your gut and doing something that's a risk and it being rewarding. So, I felt like with this album and all that comes with it, it felt like a great title.”
While making the record, Lambert took a break halfway through, in an attempt to fall in love with music-making again, having been in the industry since she was 17. Her manager suggested the time out, however, Lambert struggled to adjust initially (joking to ET in July that she can’t take a break again because “I get married and do weird sh*t!”)
“I wasn't really sure how to take a break because I haven't [before],” she explained. “I felt like you have to fall in love with it again and you can't do that if you don't miss it. I didn't choose the break -- my manager suggested it strongly, and she was right because I was a little tired.”
Admittedly, Lambert didn’t sit around doing nothing during the break, working with her girl group, Pistol Annies. However, the time out from her solo music proved invigorating for Wildcard, which she says stays true to her country roots.
“It's got some rock 'n' roll in it for sure, but no matter what I sing, it's country,” she said. “I didn't overthink it -- I just put songs on it that I loved and that I wanted to sing about. My favorite is ‘Tequila Does’ because it sounds like home to me. Got a Texas flair to it.”
As for Wildcard’s lyrical content, Lambert prides herself in sharing deep insights from her personal life with her music -- as difficult as it can be.
“It's kind of like putting your diary out there for everybody to read and sometimes it's a little harder than others, but this record has so many funny moments on it that it felt a little less stressful or felt a little less anxious,” she said. “But [I] always have the jitters and lose sleep for a few nights before [release day.]”
“Being brutally honest is what I built my career on, so I have to stick to that, but it's not always easy,” she added. “But then girls, people, come up to me and say, ‘Thank you. You captured how I was feeling in that moment.’”
Lambert's album launch concert will air on iHeartMedia’s country radio stations on Nov. 6, as will a 30-minute video stream on iheartradio.com/MirandaLambert at 7 p.m. local time.
See more from ET's interview with the singer below.
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