Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - 53 Lauren and Chris Lane

Episode Date: February 17, 2021

This week on Couple Things, we chat with Chris and Lauren Lane. We were so excited to hear them tell their story of how they met, fell in love, and how they are feeling about their first child. Here are a few other topics that we cover: How Chris and Lauren started dating Finding the balance of sharing your personal life in the public eye How Chris jumped into Lauren's world (reality tv), and how they fell in love What making mistakes in marriage look like Are there personal boundaries when songwriting? Chris and Lauren's proposal story "Big Big Plans" Shawn and Andrew's proposal story Prepping for a first-born child Relationship advice from Chris and Lauren If you haven’t yet, please rate Couple Things and subscribe to hear more. Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going at https://www.instagram.com/couplething...​ And if you have suggestions/recommendations for the show, send us your ideas in a video format – we might just choose yours! Email us at [e-mail]. Follow Lauren and Chris! Lauren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenlane/?hl=en Lauren's Website: https://laurengracelane.com/ Chris's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamchrislane/?hl=en Chris's Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ojqVjLK8GE3bpVvIVw04w?sub_confirmation=1 We're supported by the following companies that we love! Check them out below: Best Fiends ▶ Download Best Fiends for FREE today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That’s FRIENDS without the R –Best Fiends! Beekeepers ▶ Receive 15% off your first order. Go to BEEKEEPERSNATURALS.com/EASTFAM or use code EASTFAM at checkout to claim this deal. Athletic Greens ▶ They are offering Couple Things listeners a FREE, one-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs of the Greens with your first purchase if you visit my link today...you’ll basically never have to buy Vitamin D again! Simply visit athleticgreens.com/EASTFAM and join health experts, athletes, and health-conscious go-getters around the world who make a daily commitment to their health every day. FAN MAIL ADDRESS: Shawn and Andrew East 750 N San Vicente Blvd., East Tower, 11th Floor, Los Angles, CA 90069 Follow My Instagram ▶ http://www.instagram.com/ShawnJohnson​​​ Like the Facebook page! ▶ http://www.facebook.com/ShawnJohnson​​​ Follow My Twitter ▶ http://www.twitter.com/ShawnJohnson​​​ Snapchat! ▶ @ShawneyJ Follow AndrewsTwitter ▶ http://www.twitter.com/AndrewDEast​​​ Follow My Instagram ▶ http://www.instagram.com/AndrewDEast​​​ Like the Facebook page! ▶ http://www.facebook.com/AndrewDEast​​​ Snapchat! ▶ @AndrewDEast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was just something about her that I could not not call her on the fall and I couldn't not text her or FaceTime or all that kind of stuff and then the more we hung out the more I was just like, oh my gosh, this is it. I'm a doneer. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Couple Things. With Sean and Andrew. A podcast all about couples. And the things they go through. Today, we are continuing our interview series with Chris Lane and his wife, Lauren.

That's right. So Chris is one of our favorite country music stars. He's written a bunch of our favorite songs, including Hold You Tonight, which he did with another one of my favorite artist, Griffin. He also wrote, I Don't Know About You, which is a great song. And in the interview, we talk about his song, Big, Big Plans, which is ultimately how he got engaged and proposed to his wife, Lauren. Lauren, you might recognize from our favorite show, The Bachelor.

And we had a lot of fun talking with Chris and Lauren. They had some really good words of wisdom to share, especially Chris talking about how he feels about soon becoming a father. They have a kid on the way. And we couldn't be more excited for them. So if you want to find out more about Chris and Lauren, we'll link their information down below, including some of Chris's songs, our favorite songs of his at least. And before we jump into it, if you haven't subscribed or given the show a rating,

please do so on whatever platform you're listening to. Let's go ahead and jump into this one with Chris and Lauren Lane. Lauren and Chris, it is a pleasure to have you here. We were just talking about this is maybe the most amount of times we've had to reschedule. Yeah. Thanks to you and I, Sean. Yeah. Andrew got COVID. I was sick because I was pregnant and trying to hide it. Drew, nannies, you guys. Yeah. So we appreciate your patience. But it's. Is that a Nashville sounds hat, Chris? You know what? I wondered what this was because I found it and I cleaned out of the closet not long ago. I found this hat and I just started wearing it. And I truly didn't even know where I'd. Is that baseball? Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now that you say that, have you been to a national sound game or does this just come from somewhere? Yeah, I've been to a national sounds game, but I want to say maybe they sent it to me years ago. Yeah. Now that I've got my hair growing out in the back, I'm wearing a lot more hats now.

And fitted hats seem to fit me much better now than they did back in the day. Dude, between the mustache on the mullet, bro, you freaking are rocking. I love it, I can afford to do this while we're in quarantine. And then we were talking, it's been, I thought it was like a few months, but it's been over a year since we've got, we've seen you guys in person, which is crazy. Wild. We were trying to wreck our brain about when that was. And I cannot believe it's been over a year.

Yes. Well, when we both have our babies, we'll have to have a baby play date. Let's do it. Hey, the mom is get together with the babies. The boys can play some golf. Or, wait, can we reverse that? So the Mamas will get together for wine And the dads will get together with the babies

You can strap them to the front of you and go golf. As long as they get driving. It would be hysterical. Just seeing a group of dads on the golf course with babies. Okay, I actually want to start this interview aside from everything we just talked about. How and when did you guys find out your practice? So was it September? I think we found out.

End of September. Yeah. Wasn't? I don't know. It was right, yeah. So I had taken a all-artist golf trip to Pinehurst, North Carolina, and basically you found out while I was gone, right? No, no, no. I think you were, you had just gotten back.

Okay, I had just gotten back in Lawrence made a pregnancy test, and it said, said positive and honestly yeah we we didn't neither one of us believed it and yeah i don't know if you experienced this but i we had been like trying so it wasn't like a shock or anything but i usually would wait um you know i wouldn't necessarily take an early fancy test all the time uh just because obviously i would just wait to see if i was pregnant or not but this time i just had a weird feeling did you like have that yes and you'll know it you'll know it every time you'll doubt it you'll doubt it for sure but i believe like i told i told my best best friend even before andrew literally like three weeks

pregnant i was like i think i'm pregnant and i couldn't even get a pregnancy positive test you had that same thing learned yes i think i was about three and a half weeks um i just had this weird the feeling and it wasn't physical at all. I had no physical symptoms whatsoever. Your disposition changes completely. Everything about you. I'll take a test. You know, not, again, not trusting that feeling.

And then obviously it came back positive. It was very faint because I was so worried. And then I showed Chris. And we actually drove to the store to get the digital ones that like literally say pregnant or not pregnant because I was like maybe there's something wrong with the like two line system. And then that one said clearly pregnant. I remember with Drew, so our second pregnancy, we had the same thing with the pregnancy test, and I texted one of my friends.

And I was like, this is weird. I don't think it's working. I think it's broken. And she laughed. And she said, any line is a pregnant line. Like, if you see anything, it means you're pregnant. Yeah, I didn't know that. Did you cry when you found out, Chris?

I did not cry, no. I'm not a very emotional person. You know what? I thought that I would, because again, we wanted it pretty bad. And I thought that I would be more emotional than I was. But I think we were just both really excited, but still slightly in disbelief. Yeah, 100%. I think with the first, like, I just didn't really know how everything worked.

And, you know, you don't physically feel anything yet. You're not showing at all. You just feel like a normal person. So I don't think it hit until, you know, later down the road. Question, are you still in disbelief? Because we are. I still like, I still will try to put jeans on. And I'm like, dang, babe, I ate too much pizza over the holidays.

I'd be like, no, babe, you're pregnant. Don't you show more with, or show fast? Yes. I look, I look five months pregnant already. And I'm 10 weeks. It's scary. People are like, are you having twins? I'm like, no.

No, it's just one. Not twins, though. For sure. There's only one in there. Are you having twins? No. No, we're not. Okay.

Y'all know what I'm, not for this to come off in a weird way, but I thought about this a lot through watching Lauren's process. And I feel, I feel bad for y'all that you have to put your bodies through that. And at the same time, as a guy, I'm incredibly thankful that guys can't get pregnant. It's, dude. It is not, like, I mean, the first 10 weeks, I was pretty miserable. I thought that I, I was like this cannot be what it feels like I thought I had the flu or I mean I went and got COVID tested because I was like there's just no way that it's supposed to feel like yeah we spent

like $10,000 on COVID test okay I don't mean to intimidate you this is more for Chris than Lauren Lauren you're fine you're going to get through this like a rock star Chris if you feel that way like thank God guys can't get pregnant already just wait until birth no no no no No, no, no. I actually, I actually disagree with Chris here because I've been through it. You want to be able to get pregnant? I've been through it. No, no, I don't want to be able to get pregnant.

But I don't think the guys have it like super easy. Physically, sure. We don't have to like do the whole thing. Chris, Chris, the amount of times. A husband doesn't say. Dog, just don't say it. The next couple months for you, bro, are going to be the most humbling. Look, you got to be there to support Lauren, right?

That's our job. And that freaking gets so hard during pregnancy. it is a whole different animal yeah i can't i think it's worse from here we mean this to say we're so excited for you and it's the hardest thing you'll ever go through but it is the greatest joy you will ever feel in your entire life yeah oh my goodness babies are the best and we're going to get us we're going to get a

song out of this as well. Like, I'm so glad I get pregnant. Oh, yeah. No, we're really excited. So thank you guys. And we're excited for you guys. Yeah. All right, quick break here. A couple of things is brought to you by Best Fiends. Things have come a long way since we were kids, babe. But there's just something about the classics. I read to Drew every day and rereading these classic books I grew up with. It really takes me back. Yes. We love story time with her. And you know what else is an instant classic best fiends it's the top rated mobile puzzle adventure i literally can't stop playing it you guys know i've been playing best fiends for a while we've been we've been sharing it with you for a long time and the feeling of reaching a new level which they continually add just doesn't get old it really is

so much fun and don't worry you're never going to get bored with this game there are 5,000 puzzles and counting they are always updating the app with new fun elements it's got the colors it's got the characters and it's got the continuous updates don't blame us if you get addicted, whether you want to fight boredom or stress or you want to add a bit of friendly competition to your home, Best Fiends can help. And the best part is, it's free. You can download Best Fiends for free today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That's Friends Without the R. Best Fiends. I want to take it way back real quick. So reality TV is where we first learned a name. How did you

guys meet? So we actually met right after I got off of reality TV and I at no surprise to anyone got engaged on a tennis show. And we, knowing her like I know her now, that is incredibly surprising. Yeah, it was very, it was very, the decision to go on that show was very outside my comfort zone. Like I still look back and I'm like, I wonder what gave me the to actually go for it because I'm pretty shy and I was a flight attendant like just living my you know I was very happy and content and so I'm surprised that I did go on it but anyways we um speaking of not to not to bear off that but speaking of flight attendants that is that would be a I know a lot of people love doing that but for me I'm scared of heights and

flying and I would be incredibly scared to have that job on a daily basis it would be it would be wild yeah i was actually going to ask can you kind of give the the uh the pre-boarding spiel like you know you got access on the do you can you still do that i don't think i remember no because to be quite honest you actually read it oh never really had to memorize it and then also there are different positions like as a flight attendant so the lead or whatever or the a flight attendant what we called it is the one who would do all the announcements and i didn't personally love Again, I was kind of shy. So I didn't really love doing the A position.

I was much more comfortable, like, in the back. Lauren, you're telling me you're too shy to speak to a plainful of people. But not too shy to go on a national television show. That is wild. Yeah, so I have AEDD and I into it. Yeah, but anyway, so we, Ben, who I got engaged to on The Bachelor, we were presenting at an I-Heart radio concert. was it a concert in Austin, Texas.

Yeah, it was in Austin. And one of his friends who works at IHeart just introduced him to us. And it was like, hey, me, Chris. He's like a young artist, new artist. He just put on a song, blah, blah, blah, blah. We said, hey, Chris was actually by himself. Yeah, it wasn't just anybody. This was Tom Pullman we're talking about.

He was like, yeah, he basically runs eye heart. Runs eye heart. Okay. I didn't know him, though, and I didn't know Chris, obviously. And so we just kind of very like. he said hi yeah he wanted to walk over and say hello and i just went kind of a bachelor stand he's not going to admit it but oh so that's why i see you dumb so that's why he was introduced but i felt kind of bad for chris because he was literally by himself like he was just standing like

by himself so i was like you can come hang out with us like truly like just trying to be nice because i felt bad like he was just standing by himself and so Anyways, nothing really came of that. I was engaged, kind of focusing on that relationship, which is really difficult after the show. Like, it does. It takes a lot of work. You're kind of, like, getting to know each other all over in a way.

I was very hyper-focused on that, so obviously not even thinking about that. But that's how we actually initially met and became acquaintances. And then throughout the years, kind of stayed in touch. Like, I think I ran into him in Nashville. He was, like, trying to pick up on one of my friends. I was kind of trying to make it happen. I was like truly trying to play matchmaker. And then we met again at, or we saw each other again at Tortuga music festival, like years later.

Wait, how many years have gone by by now? I mean, a lot. Like six. Whoa. Oh my gosh. So it was like a long, you know, we went from like acquaintances to, I was like, oh, Chris is such a good guy. Like meet this friend of mine. And you did kind of hang out with.

come below my friends, which is fine. And then, you know, fast forward to two and a half years ago, I was single and I don't know, like our friendship just kind of became more than that. I think it was because the timing was just right. Like, again, I was not in a relationship and your attempts that my friends didn't work out. So they just kind of like naturally, you know, develop from a friendship there was all there was there was all a plan it was i was to say chris was it always there though you fell in love yeah yeah i mean i always knew it was going to be her in the end oh you did not that's funny it was i knew it's such a lie lord no lie you looked at chris's mullet and mustache you said i need that i need that in my life back in the day you didn't

really, actually you did kind of have a little bit of talent. Yeah, but I had a, I had a hilarious haircut, and I honestly had this haircut trying to be funny. And in the beginning, when we first started dating, Lauren would never say anything to me about it. Like, she'd just kind of like let it go. And then as we started, you know, made it official, all that kind of stuff. She was like, okay, time for a new haircut. Like, no more. I was just like, maybe we should try something different.

I mean, it's okay. I honestly had to have like a fallon intervention with Andrew at one point. I had dreadlocks, Chris. I had dreadlocks. No, no, no, no. That, no, no, no, no. We did not date when he had dreadlocks. We were not dating.

We had, not to say this is a road. I look good. No, he didn't. It was terrible picture. He had longer hair too, right? That's when I had to have the intervention because it went from like cute, long guy hair to like, it got like creepy long guy hair. Like, you know when you're walking through the airport, you see like a 60-year-old dude with like a ponytail and he's balding like that i was on the fast track to that you know it was it wasn't

like this oh that's beautiful long hair and then of course i said something to him for months and he thought i was just being like a nagging wife and then he now looks back at pictures and he's like why would you ever let me grow my hair out that long i was like are you kidding are you kidding me i'm curious has uh lauren your experience on reality tv yeah like grown or diminished the desire to share your life publicly. And Chris, I don't know how, like, when Sean and I met, I was a college student playing football. So, like, the whole social media realm and, like, doing interviews and being on TV was not

my vibe. But it kind of just came with the territory. So, can I add to that too? How does that work with your career, Chris? Because I feel like as a musician, it, you get to choose what you put out there. Whereas reality TV is more of you share it all, quote on quote. So how has that balance been for you guys finding that? Yeah.

I mean, honestly, it's true. I think I guess I'll speak on my end of things. I was like super uncomfortable at first, especially right after the show. It took years to adjust from being a private person to the criticism and kind of like the bullying that can take place to going through a public breakup. I mean, it was definitely not easy throughout when it's, you know, things that are so personal to you. But I feel like now I'm more comfortable and I think I've found a balance of what works for me. And when I need to step back and like take time, we just went on a vacation for instance. And I was not really on social media at all, especially for the first couple days, like didn't even have my phone.

So I think it's just like finding that balance. And I do, there are things that I like want to share. get excited to share, obviously, you know, one being our recent pregnancy and stuff like that. But I think it's just about finding that balance and then just kind of creating like that new normal. And it was not normal for me at first, but now it kind of just feels normal-ish. Yeah. Yeah, I have to say, too, you know, from my perspective, I mean, I'm sort of private person, but yeah, I get to choose what I put out there. And for me, when I first met Lauren and, you know, that we're married, all that kind of stuff. I've shared a lot of our relationship just through

social media, but a lot of it is because I want people, people don't get to see the side of Lauren that I get to see on a daily basis and how goofy and crazy and funny she is. And so I have all, I have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of videos that she would probably never let me share that I will find the way to share at some point. That are so funny. And I feel like I want people to see that side of her that I get to see every single day. So I find bits and pieces that I know she won't absolutely murder me if I do share. But you know, you experienced kind of what is the Bachelor world when we first started dating and like the criticism that comes with it and the, you know, it is like a really big circle and it's like

a big thing. And I feel like I remember you telling me, I can't even remember what exactly it was, but you were like kind of upset because an article was written that wasn't really completely accurate or whatever I don't know anyways but yeah you just kind of like now I was I have a thick skin I was curious Chris I feel like the bachelor world is kind of a lot of the people kind of stick to dating other people from that have been on the show Lauren like you kind of know how that whole thing works if not getting engaged to whoever they got engaged to on the show how how was it for you to step into that world like has there been some interesting, like, effects of, of that, Chris?

No, did it ever, I actually don't know if I've ever asked you this. Did it ever bother you to know that a certain chapter of my life was very public? I mean, honestly, no, I don't think I truly cared. Yeah. Once I fell in love with her, I think in the beginning with Lauren, I first started dating. I think we were both trying to run from each other because I'll be quite honest with you. I've told her this a million times, but I did not want to settle down. I wanted to just live my life.

And I was completely content and happy with the way things were going. But there was just something about her that I could not call her on the phone. I couldn't not text her or FaceTime or all that kind of stuff. And then the more we hung out, the more I was just like, oh, my gosh, this is it. I'm a dunner. Oh, God. I'm a daughter. Damn, that sounds like true love.

That is, I got the chills listening to that. That is really sweet because I think that's really cool. I think a lot of people try to run from the lives that they don't feel like they need or want and keep, like, we'll fall into it, which I think is really a sweet story. I think I actually used to pray too. Wow. I used to ask the Lord, you know, I want it for me, if you want that for me. but at this point in my life,

please don't send that to me because I'm not ready for it and I don't want it. And then he said, ha, ha, here you go. Chris, the mic's yours, bro. You just freaking spill that wisdom the rest of the time we have together. I am curious, though.

That was amazing. Going down that a little bit further, because we've heard this story before with like other people and Chris, did it scare you? Or at the time, did you were you just so happy where you were that you just didn't want it to end does that make sense did the commitment scare you yeah why were you oh did commitment scare me 100% because I knew

that I would find a way to ruin it at some point and I think I thought so much of Lauren and liked her so much as a friend that I thought to myself don't get involved like don't do that to her because I will eventually find a time to run the opposite direction. And I didn't. I never did. I never wanted to. It honestly was the easiest thing in the entire world. And, you know, a lot of that is she's beautiful inside and out.

And I needed someone with a funny and vibrant personality, and she is that. And I also, I'm a homebody. she's also a home body so we can enjoy our yeah i enjoyed a long time before now uh i don't feel like i need that i feel like my alone time is with her and and hanging out on the couch watching the show also you're beast dude i freaking love this guy your brother went through like a hard situation which i feel like you told me kind of made you scared also because he didn't have such a great experience with a relationship and marriage and it was really difficult on him so i feel like you also that kind of came into that.

Yeah, my identical twin brother went through a very hard divorce and I want to go into a story, but I also looked at that and I was like, good Lord, I would never want to put myself through that. And I just assumed that that would probably end up happening. I mean, I didn't want to be quite honest with you, my entire life, I've always said, I don't want kids. I don't want none of that kind of stuff. I just, it wasn't in me.

I didn't want it. And here we are. Yeah, when you, when you meet the right, I've learned that when you meet the right person, it changes everything and will make you want things that you never wanted before. One of my favorite books is called The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller. We'll have to get you guys a copy because it's, but the way he breaks down. He made me read this while we were dating. Yeah, I wasn't playing around. He kind of, he kind of just walks through like the full implications of marriage, like from a contractual side, from a.

spiritual side from like a personal side and he talks like to your point Chris of being scared to mess it up I think that's the coolest part of marriage is that pretty much every day like like I already we were in a big argument before this and I like every day you kind of find a way to mess it up but the cool thing is that marriage like marriage is really the most powerful I think illustration of true love because all right the other person has to be like yeah you messed up and now we're gonna just work through it and we're gonna be married at the end of this you know so anyway it gets me pumped up uh on a lighter topic that was that was really good stuff but i'm curious so we have chris the musician and when you guys met sounded like he was pretty early on his career Lauren you know

the the TV star i feel like Lauren could be a singer potentially live hey can we hear a duet sometimes let's go absolutely I got a warm up first who was a bigger face and boy or girl of the other? Like in our situation, it's obvious. Sean was a massive fan of mine. She's like, oh my gosh, college football player. I need to date this guy. But what about in your situation?

Yeah, I don't know. I can't speak for Lauren, but I don't know if I even thought of it in that way, you know, looking at her. Yeah, I was a bachelor fan. And honestly, I can't even remember watching the season what even happened none of that kind of stuff but um but yeah i mean a fan of the show i i guess maybe i was a fan of laram but um i was more of a fan of her beauty okay i love that i was a fan i liked chris's music and but yeah honestly like i never i think because i met chris early on and

we had developed this friendship i never like saw him as this like as what he is which is like a super talented musician. I just saw him as like a super sweet guy and like someone that I was like, oh, he'd make such a good, you know, boyfriend husband for someone else. I never thought it would be for me, but I was a fan of his music. I would turn up your music. I will, I will say there was one song that when I put it out, Lauren did call it. Like, I had no idea that it was going to be the biggest song of my career, but I remember talking to her about it. And she was like, I really like this song and it was a song called I don't know about you and it ended up I had zero thought of it was going to be a single and she kind of called that song it ended up being the

biggest song in my career so far that's cool it would be hysterical of Lauren was like yeah I just don't like his music yeah I'm not a fan Chris so we'll link that song down below but also this so I'm a low-key huge Griffin fan and the collab you did with him dog you freaking crushed it bro i love that song wait that's amazing that you're a griffin fan because i Lauren was as well before the collaboration even came about i was like wait Griffin like i'm a big fan huge fan yeah he's awesome yeah that was a little collaboration uh i'm super thankful for you i haven't even played that song live i put it out during the quarantine and we haven't been able to play a show since so that's a shame yeah i can't wait to get out there in uh in play it under goes to these phases

whenever he finds a new song that he likes. I don't know if you're like this. Probably not. But he will listen to it on repeat for a solid like six weeks. So that is the only song that played in our house on repeat for over a month easily. And then by the time that you do after that's finished, that cycle, you like so over it though? No.

He's not. No offense. I am. I'm like, okay. We need a new one. Hey, I'm the same. It's funny that you're saying that because I have this record that I always listen to. It's this old Kenny Chesney record that never even had a single off of it.

It was a record called Be As You Are that I listen to all the time. And Lauren's like, okay, we've got to listen to something different. Yes. What's the one you were on this kick for the? Eagles? No, Bohemian. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, no, who's the, who's,

Freddie Mercury, Queen. I was on Queen for, yeah. He was on Queen for a solid like eight months. Is that because of the movie? Yes. Yes. I thought I was going to lose my mind. But Chris, it's also because I could do a really good Freddie Mercury impression.

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Can we hear it? No. I want to ride my bicycle. No. No.

Oh, God. I would love to know So we got to interview Al-O-Black and his wife And oh my gosh I just punch myself in the face with him like And I've always been curious with songwriting And with musicians So he had this interesting take away with his songs

That every once in a while He'll sing a song, write a song That pertains to his life and his wife and his kids But other than that he can talk He can sing about anything and kind of like act his way through it. I'm curious with your music, do you tend to keep it personal? Are you not allowed to keep it personal? Like, what are your guys' boundaries within the creative realm of what it is you sing about?

Yeah, I mean, personally, I don't feel like I have any boundaries. I mean, if Lauren heard a song that I wrote and she was like, no, you're not sharing that. I would say, okay, I'm still sharing it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't feel like there's boundaries with it. I feel like I know what I'm allowed to talk about or sing about. But yeah, not every song that I put out is going to be personal. And, you know, I feel like people react.

I've learned through big, big plans that a song really that I had just wrote her for that specific moment and had no plans to kind of put it out into the world other than just making a little video for it and I put it on YouTube and it kind of did its, you know, took on its own. Yeah, it did.

Yeah, it exploded. I learned that people definitely like songs that are personal to your story and the best thing that can happen is what kind of happened with that song. Something that was very personal to me And our story people took and turned into their own story, which is what you can only hope to do in

the writing room every day. It usually doesn't happen, but we connected on one that day, and I'm super thankful for that. So, yeah, a lot of songs will 100% be that way, but not every one of them. I mean, you know, at some point in your life, you're going through heartbreak at some point. You know, I can still sing about all that kind of stuff, even though I'm at that season in my life. well you have to expand for those that might not know about big big plans tell us exactly what you're talking about oh yeah so uh big big plans was a song that uh i wrote for lauren and our engagement uh the way i planned this thing out was she had given me uh strict

great guys if I were to ever propose at any point in our life I was never allowed to do it on stage it's never allowed to do it in a stadium or whatever I didn't say aloud I was just like maybe I would prefer something a little more yeah so I thought to myself what can I do to be creative for an engagement because I'd already bought the ring and just like I wrote it in the song I kept

it hid in the bottom left side of my sink drawer because I knew she would not go on my side and ever be able to find it. And a lot of people have asked, like, well, how did she not know what was going on? Because you had a video camera there to film it and all that kind of stuff. And what I did to disguise it is at the time, we were talking about doing this YouTube show in a way. And so we were just, I had my videographer out on the road with me. And we were playing up near Portland, Oregon.

I was on tour of Brad Paisley at the time. And basically what happened was I said, so we don't have to spend a whole extra day traveling up to Portland, Oregon. We had already planned on staying at her parents' house for Father's Day, which was the next day, which was the day that I proposed on. Why don't we go ahead and get some shots with your family, so I don't have to fly somebody back out there. and we can kind of kill two birds of one stone while we're out here. And she was like, oh, great idea. So I disguised it as if we were shooting stuff for YouTube all day long, and she had no idea what the real plan was.

And just like any song that I bring home after writing, I always say, hey, I wrote this song today, you know, give me your opinion. And that's kind of how I played this out was, oh, baby, I just got a new song back that I just wrote, but I wrote this one specifically for you and I want to play it for you and we were there in her parents' backyard and to be quite honest with you

when that song started playing I blacked out like I was about as nervous as not getting a A because I needed her to actually listen to the song because it was going to be a proposal in there so when we got through the second verse and into the course I mean, I was trembling. I couldn't think about what I was going to say when I got down there.

I had already, before I played this song, I ran inside, asked Lauren's mom for a pen, and I wrote down one word on my hand just in case I were to lock up and don't realize how old was to start. So, yeah, as it was getting closer to that third verse, I whispered in her ear, and I said, babe, this part's my favorite part. Make sure you're listening.

And the work for right now we're back in her hometown and I'm down on one knee. I guess she finally figured out. I'm going to ask her to marry me. And she started, yeah, yeah. She started crying and I walked her out to the yard. And thankfully she said yes. Honestly, I remember what I said in that moment because, again, I was blacked out. And the best part about this is I was able to have literally a proposal every night on stage after I released this song.

Someone proposed on stage every night. And I watched guys go through what I went through. As soon as I hit the bike on stage, they forget everything. It's hilarious moment, but it's the best moment. Yeah, that's the back story behind that song. And a lot of people don't know this leading up to that in her parents' house. They have these two little corgays that run around. and her dad's got a super nice backyard so we had her it was a gorgeous day in Portland and

I had my shoes off all day I was barefoot oh no and right before the proposal I stepped in a huge dog turd barefoot no someone told them good luck and I don't know if they were just trying to make us feel better about it 100% trying to make it feel better there's no way yeah for sure wait Lauren did you did it take you into the third like is a chorus verse I don't know the lingo guys did it take you that long to figure it out or did you figure it out so I would say that day I was already like a little suspicious if you will but at the same time it was also Father's Day so he's not going to propose on Father's Day and then he had kind of thrown me off because he had said you know make sure you have a cute outfit we're going out to dinner the following night so i thought

maybe i knew he was proposing soon though i tried everything i could to throw off yeah we i mean we talked about it we picked out the ring together i mean months and months back but if there's any advice that i can give guys listening right now or or girls whatever um it is let your wife pick out her own ring and you can't mess it up dude that's a good call honestly but yes the song started playing I think I just I don't really know if I thought about

what is happening right now I think I just was so in the moment like that might be the one time in my life where I've never or where I've been the most just like in the moment truly like not thinking about anything else

like I think I kind of forgot that my family was there I forgot that there were you know these two guys with their little cameras there like oh my gosh you just came in Nash joined us

But yeah, I was just so present that I don't even think I really was thinking about what was happening, if that makes sense. Do you, uh, God, baby? Nash, say hello. We have some dog cameos going on. Hello, Matt. Lauren, do you remember what Chris said when he got down on a knee? Um, actually, no.

And I don't remember what he said. Yeah, no. And it's in video. Like, I can go look it up. I should know. Yeah, I said something about, I know I said something about I have to spend the rest of my life. Yeah, I think that, yes, I do remember that. And then, yes, and I'm not a great.

Then I stepped in a dog turd and I feel like that was. So you don't. You know. I remember Andrew telling me all he could think about was he got, he got like, he waked himself out. He's like, wait, which hand is the left if I'm facing her in the, the, the. No, dude, you buy the ring and it comes in a big old fat box, but like you can't put that in your pocket without it being absolutely obvious. So I had the loose ring in my pocket like the whole day. And I was so nervous.

Anyway, wait, okay. So Sean, did you know? Did you guys, had you guys talked about marriage and like? Lauren, I didn't even know I was going to propose. He decided to propose the night before. like he planned it the night before um i had no idea i figured out all surprises yeah and i knowing him he would never do something on a public stage especially back then when we were dating never like that was the last thing i could ever and i that's not what we had talked about

we wanted something more intimate and he proposed in the middle of rigley field in the middle of a game so that's a big move right there yeah but we were in an argument that day. I was supposed to be working. It was just, it was a mess. And then all of a sudden he came out of a rose.

I think you had that ring in your pocket like in such a crowded. Yes. I know. It was a bad idea from top to bottom except for the idea of me wanting to marry her. He somehow managed to have like a custom jersey made in time with like the new last name and it was really cute.

You executed it really well. And he did so in a very short amount of time, which is very impressive. Yeah. he's such a romantic I was wearing like a white like V-neck tea it was like an undershirt anyway it was a

not my finest moment I have a question what okay so I want to switch back to babe well oh you're changing topics yeah no please okay um first you guys got a second dog yes congratulations that's amazing we're a huge dog people

but going back from like fur babies to babies, what are you guys most excited about and what are you most nervous about with your baby? Your baby boy. Oh, my gosh, so many things I'm nervous about. Like, I think it's just, I'm hoping that, you know, our intuition and just like nature kicks in and I just know what to do. But right now, thinking about it, I'm like, I mean, I grew up babysitting and I have three younger siblings and stuff like that, but obviously never had my own baby before. So I don't really know what to do. So very nervous about many, many, many things. But obviously just very

excited. I'm excited to see like what he looks like and like what his personality is and just like just wild to think that there's this human growing inside of my belly. And he's going to be his own little person and, you know, have his own personality. So excited to just meet him. at this point. Yeah, maybe I can help my anxiety because you already have one and another on the way. But so one of the reasons I'm just keeping it real right now. A lot of people would never even know this. But one of the reasons that I was always thinking that I never wanted to have kids is because I'm a hyperchondriac over sickness. And I feel kids get sick all the time. Now, I don't care about like, I don't care about like colds and all that kind of stuff, but what I am death is one of my worst fears in life is throwing up.

And I feel like maybe this is just in my head, but I feel like kids always pass along some type of stomach virus that makes you throw up. And I've worked this up in my mind and I'm definitely afraid of throwing up. So, all these are nerves. I like we've drew's actually never thrown up like in that sense you'll in the infant stage stage there'll be a lot of like spit up but it's it's totally manageable I think it doesn't it doesn't to get into the details for you it doesn't smell like throw up it doesn't look like throw up it looks like you she basically took a drink or he took a drink of milk and just decided I yeah but Chris like that's it let me paint a picture for you what I've been doing the past two weeks

and see if you would be into this or not there's a there's a there's a there's a a tool they call the nose frida all right and so when when a baby has like you've seen this yeah has Lauren or has Chris do you know so when a baby has a running nose they don't really know how to like blow their nose so you have to use this tool and you stick a little you stick a tube in their nose and you have to like suck it out with your mouth that I mean I'm not I'm not an idiot but I'm just, you don't like actually ditch it in a matter, right?

There's a filter, however, like, I can deal, I can deal with like the other bodily fluids of the baby. I cannot do that.

I can't, I can't even look. I'm like plugging my ears and closing my eyes. I can't do that one. Does it make like a weird noise? Just like snot gurgling. Anyway,

that was too vivid. My bag. I don't. It makes me feel queasy. Yes. And then they have another one for the opposite end of the baby, too. You don't. I'm not.

No, it doesn't work the same way. But it's a similar. It doesn't work the same way. You don't. No. I did. Roll it back. Yeah, I didn't, I didn't pitch that well.

No. Lauren, I'll explain all this to you later. But. As far as, like, sickness goes and everything, babies are miraculous. And Drew has had colds, but we've been, like, you'll be fine. It'll be great. With dogs, I mean, we've had two puppies now. Yeah.

Have accidents that are not pleasant at all. Yeah. Yeah. If you can do that. And. I think that's a good, that's a good reference point. Yeah. I think dogs are way nastier in that.

sense. I also feel like not to get like too graphic, but everything just, you get eased into everything. Like, it's just a very slow rollout. And like once you get used to something, it will get a little crazier and it'll get a little crazier. But it's not like you burr the baby and they're puking and. Yeah.

Like even changing the diaper. Even the diaper at the start is like pretty mellow. Like I thought that was going to be nasty, but then it actually doesn't get nasty. A diaper before, ever? A what? Before Drew, had you changed a diaper? Never. Neither of us.

Never. Yeah. Dude, you're going to crush as a dad. You're going to be a great dad. It's awesome. And Lauren. You got it. Lauren, you're going to be an amazing mother.

But you were talking about intuition. Yeah. If you love your baby, everything works out. Like, it works. You don't, like, I tell all my friends who are getting ready to have babies and stuff, the same thing. You don't have to obsess over the products. You don't have to.

obsess over the nursery or anything you're going to have your baby you're going to be holding him something's going to happen you're going to be like i need a burt cloth and it's like oh let's go buy some burt claws or they're they have an upset belly what can i give them i mean it just it happens so naturally that it's all fine chris have you thought about have you thought about a push present for lauren though yeah what a push present A push present? Yeah, this is a thing. Is that a real thing?

Yeah, dude. So there's a new tradition. We didn't, I didn't actually, I had heard of it. He had it. You need to have a gift ready. It's usually in the form of a ring. What? Yeah, it's usually a band.

No, dude, no. So it's usually, I'll tell you why. So. I just bought a ring. How many we got to buy? Well, okay, so what they would say, like, if you Google it, is the wedding ring is supposed to represent you, and then you, like, the new tradition, it's like more of a millennial thing is like you get her another band to represent the baby. But it's to, it's because she pushes the baby out. It's a push present.

Yeah. Well, this is all brand new news to me. And, yeah, I guess I better start thinking about it. do you consider the vacation you just went on the baby moon yes that's a baby moon nice nice well actually so we never got to go on our honeymoon we had it planned for last April and then obviously everything shut down so it was kind of both it was like honeymoon slash baby moon that's awesome um a couple friends of ours have a house there so we saw them so it was kind of like just a lot of things wrapped into one um so we got that out of the way but push present yeah

A push present. A what? Hey, we are the same way. Okay, hard-hitting question. This is the last one. Okay. This is what we end every podcast with. Both of you individually, what is the best piece of advice you have been given or would give to anybody out there about relationships or being a couple?

I would say best piece of advice. advice that I could give would be marriage is incredibly hard marriage is incredibly rewarding and totally worth it if you find the right person wow well said I just kind of thought of that so love it I love that um oh lord I think okay so I have two one applies to like married couples or in a relationship, one applies to maybe single people. So when I was, I've been in a few relationships and I always like forced it and it was always really hard and like I just thought that that's how relationships were, which they do have their ups and downs.

But I think the minute I met Chris, I'm not going to say when you know, you know, because I didn't really have that realization moment. But I think deep down, it happened so naturally and so easy compared to the other ones. that I had been in that I just, I wouldn't have known the difference until I met Chris, but I mean, night and day difference in terms of just questioning yourself, like, do they like me? Are they into me? You know, whatever. I just knew because he was putting in an effort. It was mutual. The timing was right. Like so many things just worked out. So it was just easy. So I feel like you'll know when it's just easy and natural. And then second would be don't go to,

I feel like a lot of people say this, but don't go to bed like mad at each time. other or angry you're gonna have we've had moments for sure especially when i'm tired that's when i feel like i'm not my best like if i'm tired so at the end of the day all i can say is the good lord put me in lauren's life with the correct personality and temperament you know what to do and don't get mad at each other and chris is really good at squaw oh my gosh our dogs are biting chris is really good about squashing it and like talking about it it and I've gotten better about that too because I used to kind of like bottle

it up and I just be like let's talk about it tomorrow but I've realized that that's not necessarily the best way to do it. I'll tend to laugh like if we get mad at each other like once we get over it like I tend to laugh a lot about it. Which sometimes angers me more.

Think about what we're literally arguing over right now. This is the dumbest thing in the world and it's funny that we would even get mad at each other or something like that. It's crazy sometimes. Hey, well, Lauren, Chris, so thankful you took the time to join us. Thank you for your wisdom, your stories, and I hope to talk again soon. For those listening, I'm going to find out more about Lauren and Chris, we will link all

their information, including some of our favorite songs down below. But thanks a ton, guys. You guys are the best. I'm so happy for both of you, too. Yeah, we're excited for you. Yes. Yes, please. Maybe played it to the best.

Thank you.