Country singer Walker Hayes reflected on how his family was brought back together in the wake of tragedy.
In 2018, the now-44-year-old country star and his wife, Laney, suffered a devastating loss after their daughter, Oakleigh Klover, died shortly after birth due to a uterine rupture that nearly ended Laney’s life as well.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Hayes, who recently partnered with JCPenney for a new clothing collection, explained how channeling his emotions through his music improved his relationship with his wife and children and helped them overcome challenging times.
“One thing that I’m grateful for is there was some point in my life where I began to write songs and that began this communicative side of me where I felt the need to say it all,” he said.
The “Good With Me” hitmaker continued, “Let’s throw it all on the table, and you can do what you want with it. But selfishly, it’s not inside me anymore.”
“And I will say that that has been a gift, and I’m forever grateful,” he added. “It’s improved my relationship with my kids, with my wife. Brutal honesty and communication, highway wide open.”
“I do think that that’s a large reason why I’m unafraid to expose my family for the good and the bad and just say, ‘Hey, we’re still a family.’”
“Honestly, when it comes to fashion? When they called me, I’m not sure I was that confident as far as, like, ‘Am I equipped to make fashion decisions?’” he said.
Hayes continued, “But as they included me and honestly just dove into my personal story, they gave me more and more confidence, and they allowed me to really, really help create this line.”
“A lot of these items are personal that we did together. There’s a jacket of my father’s that we basically recreated, that I wear every day. And he’s gone now, but now there’s a jacket out there that other people will hand down, and it’ll be a part of their life.”
WATCH: Country singer Walker Hayes on his new collaboration with JCPenney
“There’s T-shirts with textures and colors that I feel confident putting on and wearing [on] all occasions,” he added. “Honestly, it’s my life in clothing form. You know, in 25 items. It’s what I do. And so, I give JCPenney so much credit for trusting me, and honestly, just setting me up for success with this line again.”
Hayes recalled that he never really chose his own clothing in the past. The Grammy Award-nominee said his mother would pick out clothes for him and his brother and that JCPenney was one of their go-to shops. After he married Laney, Hayes said he often relied on her to choose his apparel.
“I feel like that’s actually a genius way to create a men’s line – to use a real dude who probably shops and wears clothes like your normal JCPenney person,” he said. “And so I just happened to have a cool job that goes along with it.”
“It’s been a magical relationship, so organic and something that I would easily continue in a heartbeat. It’s been a blast. I can’t wait to see it on people. You know, out in the world.”
The Walker Hayes for JCPenney collection is available to shop online May 4 and then in select stores on May 16.
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