A Complete Timeline Of Luke And Nicole Combs’ Relationship

While his most commercially successful song is his soulful cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” Luke Combs is also famous for iconic love songs like “Beautiful Crazy,” “Better Together,” and “Forever After All.” All are written about his wife, Nicole, who has been his biggest cheerleader throughout his career.

Let’s go down memory lane and discuss the sweetest relationship in country music since Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins.

2016: Luke and Nicole Meet and Start Dating

The couple first met in 2016 at a songwriter’s festival in Florida when Nicole was working with a music label and Luke was just starting his career. In an interview on Couple Things With Shawn Johnson and Andrew East, Nicole told the story of how she made the first move. Nicole invited Luke to hang out with her friends after a songwriting session, which led the two to becoming close. They started dating shortly afterwards, and Luke told Nashville Lifestyles, "I could tell she was different than anybody I had ever met.”

Nicole also said, "I realized we could hang out and just be ourselves in front of each other. I could wear no makeup and be my weird self – because we're all weird, but we get to choose who to share that side of us with. We could be each other's weird in front of each other. That's when it was like, 'You know what? This guy's a keeper.'"

Shortly after they started dating, he released his breakout single and instant hit, “Hurricane,” leading him to country music superstardom.

March 2017: The Relationship Becomes Instagram Official

After a few months of dating, both Nicole and Luke posted a picture of themselves with a group of friends at Luke’s 27th birthday party, soft-launching their relationship. Nicole wrote, “Great times in Chicago last night for @lukecombsmusic birthday!” Luke wrote a similar caption, “Had the best birthday weekend. Thanks to everyone who came and surprised me in Chicago and Joe's on Weed for letting us party!”

April 2017: Red Carpet Debut

A month after appearing on each other's Instagram feeds, they attended the 2017 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards together. While Luke wasn’t nominated for any ACM Awards that year, he’s since been nominated for 11 ACM awards and won four of them.

November 2018: Engagement

After two years of dating, Nicole and Luke announced their engagement during a trip to Hawaii via an Instagram post. Nicole wrote, “You’re stuck with me forever!! I love you so sooo much babe,” and Luke wrote, “She said yes a while ago but this is a way better place to take pictures than the kitchen. Can’t wait to spend forever with you @nicohocking I Love You!”

December 2018: “Beautiful Crazy” Is Released

One of Luke’s most popular and romantic songs, “Beautiful Crazy,” was released in December 2018. To the surprise of literally nobody, the song is about Nicole, and it was revealed that it was written during the early stages of their relationship.

Luke shared the story of writing the song for her, telling Nashville Lifestyles, “I had just started hanging out with Nicole and had this overflow of feelings about her, so when I started writing, the lines just came out of the things that we did."

"Like the ‘Her day starts with a coffee and ends with a wine’ part, that wasn’t a corny thing I made up. I just made her coffee every morning when we woke up and then I would pour her a wine every night," he continued. "It just kind of fell together pretty quickly. I always felt like it was a really great song, and it was neat to be able to play it for her.”

February 2019: First Red Carpet Event as an Engaged Couple

Luke and Nicole experienced their first red carpet as an engaged couple at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2019, where Luke was nominated for Best New Artist. While Luke didn’t win the Grammy (and has yet to win one), he has been nominated for four Grammy awards throughout his career.

August 2020: Wedding

Despite coronavirus restrictions and an incoming hurricane, Luke and Nicole had the most beautiful wedding at their Florida home on August 1, 2020. Both took to Instagram to show some pictures of their special day. Luke wrote, “Yesterday was the best day of my life. I got to marry my best friend. I love you @nicohocking, here’s to forever.” Nicole wrote, “Yesterday was the most special day!! I’m so happy to spend the rest of my life with you! Although we wish would could have had every single one of our family & friends there, we can’t wait to celebrate with everyone next year!”

Their first dance song? You guessed right, it was "Beautiful Crazy."

October 2020: “Forever After All” Is Released

If you thought “Beautiful Crazy” was Luke’s romantic song, you might want to sit down before listening to “Forever After All.” Lyrics like “They say nothing lasts forever / But they ain't seen us together / Or the way the moonlight dances in your eyes” and “I know there'll be that moment / The good Lord calls one of us home and / One won't have the other by their side / But heaven knows that that won't last too long / Maybe some things last forever after all” can melt even the biggest cynic’s heart, easily making it one of our favorite songs he’s ever performed.

If the lyrics aren’t enough to tug at your heartstrings, the music video is as romantic as it gets. It shows an older Luke showing his future granddaughter pictures of their wedding while footage of it plays, showing him crying while she walked down the aisle with her father, their first dance, and then jumping into the pool at the end of the reception.

January 2022: First Pregnancy Announcement 

Less than two years after tying the knot, Luke and Nicole took to Instagram in January 2022 to announce that they were expecting their first child. They both shared a picture of them holding up a sonogram with Nicole holding her baby bump, which she captioned, “This may be the best year yet. baby BOY combs coming spring 2022!! we are so incredibly excited & thankful.”

Luke also wrote, “Here we go y’all! Lil dude Combs is coming this Spring! Couldn’t be more excited to start a family with this babe. It’s gonna be a hell of a ride.”

June 2022: Tex Is Born

Less than a week before the release of Luke’s third album, Growin' Up, he and Nicole welcomed their first son, Tex Lawrence Combs, into the world. They both shared a picture of them holding him on social media, with Nicole writing, “It’s going to be hard to top this past Father’s Day. Welcome to the world, Tex Lawrence Combs. You are the best chillest angel boy and I’m so happy I was chosen to be your mom. These are the days.”

Luke wrote, “Welp he decided that Fathers Day would be a good time to show up. I couldn’t agree more. Me and @nicolejcombs are over the moon in love with this little guy. Mama and baby are healthy and we’re back home now with family. Life is good. Everyone welcome Tex Lawrence Combs to the world!”

November 2022: Luke Thanks Nicole in His CMA Awards Speech

Four months after their first son, Tex, was born, Luke had one of the best nights of his career at the 2022 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. He won two of the most prestigious awards: Album of the Year for Growin’ Up and Entertainer of the Year. In his acceptance speech for Entertainer of the Year, he thanked Nicole, saying, “I want to thank country music for making my dreams come true, my beautiful, beautiful wife, Nicole, our beautiful four-and-a-half month-old son, Tex, is at home right now, and this is a dream come true.” 

The best part of his speech is watching Nicole be so emotional over him winning. It goes to show that no matter how famous he gets, she’ll always be his biggest cheerleader.

March 2023: Second Pregnancy Announcement 

Less than a year after having their first son, Luke and Nicole took to Instagram to announce they were expecting their second son. The shared post showed the couple holding Tex in an adorable “big brother” shirt, accompanied by Luke’s song, “Take You With Me.” The post is captioned, “Joining the 2 under 2 club! Baby boy #2 coming this September!!”

May 2023: Baby Bump Debut at ACM Awards

Two months after announcing they were expecting their second baby, Luke and Nicole debuted Nicole’s baby bump at the 2023 ACM Awards. Although Luke didn’t win the award for Male Vocalist of the Year or Entertainer of the Year, he and Nicole won our hearts with the iconic pictures of them on the red carpet.

August 2023: Beau Is Born 

On August 15, 2023, Luke and Nicole welcomed their second son, Beau Lee, into the world. They announced his birth in a shared Instagram reel, showing Nicole writing Beau’s name on a Polaroid picture of him.

February 2024: Luke Performs with Tracy Chapman at the Grammy’s

In 2023, Luke’s cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” took the music world by storm, earning him a performing slot at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024. He performed the song as a duet with Tracy Chapman, making sure to honor her as the original writer of the song. It was beautiful and easily the most memorable performance of the night.

The performance marked a significant milestone in Luke’s career, and like always, Nicole was there to cheer him on. In an Instagram post, she wrote, “Watching you up there performing with @tracychapmanonline at the Grammy's will forever my one of my favorite moments. Never thought I’d ever write that sentence haha. cheers to another fun weekend & ridiculous selfies.”

Luke responded to the sweet post by writing, “Thanks, my love! I love you and you looked beautiful. Honored to get to be by your side. Not just yesterday but everyday.”

July 2024: Country Music Hall of Fame Museum Exhibit Opens

There are many markers for country music superstardom, but very few can say that they’ve had their own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. The exhibit, Luke Combs: The Man I Am, tells his story from his childhood to his career today and displays his first guitar, the Tracy Chapman cassette he listened to as a kid, a handwritten manuscript of lyrics, his high school football jersey, and the first dollar he earned while playing live music. The exhibit is open for fans to visit until August 2025.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibit, Nicole shared pictures of her, Luke, Tex, and Beau at the exhibit. She wrote, “Such a special night celebrating Luke’s Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit opening! Even more special that the boys got to see it. We’re so proud of you babes.” 

Luke responded by writing in her comments, “Couldn’t have done it without you my love.” 

Closing Thoughts

From when they first met in 2016 to Luke becoming a superstar, his wife Nicole has always been his biggest supporter. Their romance is not only worthy of a fairytale, but watching her inspire the best in him and him insisting that he couldn’t do it without her never fails to warm our hearts.