Walker Hayes & Wife Laney Lose Newborn Child Shortly After Birth
Walker Hayes and his wife Laney welcomed and then quickly lost their seventh child on Wednesday, June 6.
“It is with great sadness that Laney and I share with you the news that our sweet Oakleigh Klover Hayes was born this morning at the hospital and now is safely in heaven. Thank you for honoring our privacy as we grieve,” Hayes said in a statement posted on Instagram Wednesday evening.
Additional information in the Instagram post explained that the country singer has canceled “immediate upcoming appearances to be home with Laney and their children. We ask that everyone respectfully give them their privacy in this difficult time.”
The baby was due June 8, according to Taste of Country, and Laney planned on having a home birth since their six other children arrived rather quickly.
“We’ve almost had a couple in the car, and I’m not the guy you want to have a kid in the car with,” Hayes, 38, joked. “I’m pretty chill, but once birth starts I go the opposite of chill.”
The Hayes’ children, three boys and three girls, were “losing their minds excited” about the arrival of a new sibling, said the musician to Taste of Country in an interview this past November.
His children range in age from 2 to 11-years-old, noted People, who also stated that Walker and Laney were high school sweethearts.
“They’re just kids, but them being proud of me means so much to me, and I can tell that they are,” Hayes admitted to People in December.
“They are my favorite things about life. I love each and every one of these kids, and I can’t wait for another one. They’re all so beautiful and incredible, and watching them grow is the best thing I get to do on earth.”
The Mobile, Alabama, native was slated to perform at Wednesday night’s 2018 CMT Music Awards but understandably canceled his appearance.
He had been nominated for Breakthrough Video of the Year for his hit “You Broke Up with Me,” but Carly Pearce’s “Every Little Thing” won the award.
Hayes released his first album, Reason to Rhyme, in 2011. His latest record, Boom, dropped in December. It’s first single, “You Broke Up with Me,” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
He had many tour dates scheduled for this month, including a performance at CMA Fest on June 10. How many of these shows he will cancel is unknown right now. The tour is slated to run into the fall.
