{"id":49990,"date":"2026-03-26T16:08:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=49990"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:08:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:08:51","slug":"luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html","title":{"rendered":"Luke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
@lukecombs \/ Instagram | Inset: Debby Wong \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why. For the chart-topping singer, success isn\u2019t measured in trophies, but in time spent at home with his wife and three young sons.<\/p>\n

In a candid interview with GQ<\/em>, Combs didn\u2019t hold back when explaining his priorities. \u201cIf that means I piss off people by not hanging out with people I don\u2019t even know, so other people think I\u2019m cool, then who the f— cares?\u201d he said. \u201cIf that\u2019s the reason I don\u2019t win a Grammy or CMA award, then f—ing do I even want one?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bold stance in an industry where networking and visibility often go hand in hand with success. But for Combs, the tradeoff simply isn\u2019t worth it. When he\u2019s not touring, he embraces life as what he jokingly calls a \u201cstay-at-home\u201d dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m home four days a week, every week, full-time,\u201d he shared on The MeatEater Podcast. \u201cSun-up, sundown most days. Getting the kids up, changing diapers, doing baths, cooking dinners, cooking lunches, cooking breakfasts. That occupies a lot of my time, but that\u2019s what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

That desire to be present at home is rooted in a promise he made early on in his marriage to Nicole Hocking Combs\u2014to be an equal partner and an involved father. \u201cMy wife has supreme belief in me,\u201d he said. \u201cI could put both kids in the car right now and say, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re driving to Florida\u2026\u2019 and she wouldn\u2019t worry if I could take care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple, who married in 2020 after meeting at a songwriter festival in 2016, have intentionally created a life that feels grounded and normal, despite Combs\u2019 massive fame. They even live in a modest home compared to what many might expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a 2,000-square-foot house. It\u2019s two bedrooms,\u201d Combs explained. \u201cMe and my wife have a room, and the boys share a room. We\u2019re always close together, we\u2019re always tight in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

That closeness is part of a bigger goal: giving their children as normal a childhood as possible. \u201cI want my kids\u2019 childhoods to feel as normal as they can given the very strange circumstances that it will ultimately become,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even small daily routines matter. From cleaning up toys together to teaching responsibility, Combs is intentional about the kind of home environment he\u2019s building. \u201cThe living room is the playroom\u2026 But every night, \u2018Alright, we\u2019re all cleaning up now,\u2019\u201d he said, noting that even though his kids are young, they\u2019re already learning.<\/p>\n

That same heart for his children shows up in his music as well. Combs revealed that his song Whoever You Turn Out to Be was written with his kids in mind, expressing a message of unconditional love and acceptance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a firm believer that you don\u2019t get to choose,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t get to choose who you want to be with\u2026 and I can\u2019t imagine\u2026 not knowing if your parents would be O.K. with that, or disown them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond family, Combs also shared his desire to stay out of political division, saying he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Dolly Parton by focusing on kindness over controversy. \u201cBasically, just being a good person and doing what you believe is right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a culture that often celebrates fame and recognition above all else, Combs\u2019 perspective feels refreshingly different. For him, the greatest reward isn\u2019t found on a stage\u2014it\u2019s at home, in the everyday moments that matter most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why. For the chart-topping singer, success isn\u2019t measured in trophies, but in time spent at home with his wife and three young sons. In a candid interview with GQ, Combs didn\u2019t hold back when explaining his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":49993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nLuke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Luke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Idol Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-26T20:08:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/03\/Luke-Combs_credity-lukecombs-Instagram-Inset-Debby-Wong-Shutterstock.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beliefnet Contributors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Luke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards","description":"Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Luke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards","og_description":"Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html","og_site_name":"Idol Chatter","article_published_time":"2026-03-26T20:08:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/03\/Luke-Combs_credity-lukecombs-Instagram-Inset-Debby-Wong-Shutterstock.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beliefnet Contributors","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html","name":"Luke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/03\/Luke-Combs_credity-lukecombs-Instagram-Inset-Debby-Wong-Shutterstock.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-26T20:08:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-26T20:08:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#\/schema\/person\/aea408b5be59bf6e05556b03859b6b79"},"description":"Country music star Luke Combs isn\u2019t losing sleep over missed awards or skipped industry parties\u2014and he\u2019s making it clear why.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/03\/Luke-Combs_credity-lukecombs-Instagram-Inset-Debby-Wong-Shutterstock.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/03\/Luke-Combs_credity-lukecombs-Instagram-Inset-Debby-Wong-Shutterstock.jpg","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"@lukecombs \/ Instagram | Inset: Debby Wong \/ Shutterstock.com"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/03\/luke-combs-says-his-family-comes-first-even-if-it-costs-him-awards.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Luke Combs Says His Family Comes First\u2014Even if it Costs Him Awards"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/","name":"Idol Chatter","description":"Beliefnet Entertainment blog, TV blog, Movie blog, Religion in entertainment blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#\/schema\/person\/aea408b5be59bf6e05556b03859b6b79","name":"Beliefnet Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/6f7\/6f77b66a3e683e8aeba5be93e4ae3e04x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/6f7\/6f77b66a3e683e8aeba5be93e4ae3e04x96.jpg","caption":"Beliefnet Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/author\/skirk"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/462"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49990"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49996,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49990\/revisions\/49996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}