Luke Combs’ Wife Nicole Is His Key to Staying Humble, Despite Growing Fame
Despite all of his success — 14 consecutive No. 1 hits at country radio and two CMA Entertainer of the Year trophies, to name just a couple — Luke Combs has built his brand on being an "everyman" who, at the end of the day, is just a regular guy.
That's more than just an image.
Combs keeps connected to his salt-of-the-earth roots by always putting his fans first, whether that means refunding an entire crowd on a night when his voice wasn't top notch or being open and honest about his mental health struggles.
But just because he's an Average Joe doesn't mean Combs isn't susceptible to the pitfalls of success. Keeping his ego from getting inflated is something he constantly works at, he tells ABC Audio in a new interview.
"That was definitely, like, a concerted effort on my part, you know, between me and the people that I've chosen to surround myself with," the singer acknowledges.
When it comes to staying humble, Combs gives all the credit to the company he keeps: Especially his wife Nicole, whom he married in 2020. Though their wedding took place after Combs became a bona fide superstar, their love story dates back years earlier.
"I met my wife before I had anything going on," he points out. "I was driving the same car I drove in high school and [had] no shows."
To this day, Nicole keeps Combs honest and humble. In 2022, he told Billboard that she had a pretty underwhelming reaction the first time she heard his steamy, brooding love song, "The Kind of Love We Make."
"She was like, 'Geez,' and she gave me one of those eye rolls," he recounted at the time. "We have a great relationship and we're totally not afraid to make fun of each other either. We get a lot of laughs out of stuff like that."
"She's great. She just takes everything with a grain of salt," he says. "She keeps me humble, let's put it that way."
And Combs wouldn't have it any other way, because Nicole's call-it-like-she-sees-it attitude helps him keep life's truly important things in focus. "I think just keeping those people close and surrounding yourself with people that don't let you buy into your ego or yourself as an artist," he continues, reflecting on how straight-shooting friends, family and team members help him stay the course.
"Like, I don't put a lot of stock in my self-worth being in the position that I'm in, as far as being a human being goes," he adds. "And I think that's where it starts at."
Beyond that, Combs just keeps his head down and works hard. The results are paying off: Less than a year after Growin' Up arrived, he's due to release a new album in March.