K-Love\u00a0Morning Show<\/a>,\u2019 the 45-year-old singer discussed the loss of his seventh child, his daughter Oakleigh, who was born and died on the same day in June 2018.<\/p>\nHe was two-and-a-half years sober at the time, but recalled coming home from the cemetery after her funeral, feeling ready \u201cto just \u2026 self-destruct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove to a bar called 55 South, and I looked through the window and there were three guys at the bar,\u201d he continued, \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna get a little buzz and I\u2019m going to just mess with those guys. I\u2019m just gonna get in a fight with those guys.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back, Hayes can admit \u201cit makes zero sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalled that before getting out of the car, he realized he didn\u2019t have his wallet with him and ended up driving back home.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving home, Hayes had a change of heart, when he looked through a window and saw his wife, Laney, sitting in their house alone.<\/p>\n
Walker Hayes and his wife, Laney Beville Hayes, at a fair in August 2024. Walker Hayes\/Instagram<\/p>\n
Hayes and his family at the grave of his daughter, Oakleigh Klover, on her anniversary on June 6, 2024. Walker Hayes\/Instagram<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife, sadly, was just sitting by herself, on the day she\u2019s buried her daughter. My kids are I don\u2019t know where, and she\u2019s just in the dark,\u201d Hayes says. \u201cI could literally see what I was about to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s gonna have to pick me up from jail the next day. We were gonna have to start the rehab process all over, you know, and go back to square one,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat was some sin in me that I just saw clearly, and thought, \u2018I need a savior.\u2019 I need redemption from myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
His daughter Oakleigh\u00a0died during childbirth\u00a0on June 6, 2018, after his wife suffered a uterine rupture.<\/p>\n
In addition to Oakleigh, the couple has six other children: sons Beckett, Baylor and Chapel, and daughters Everly, Loxley and Lela, all of whom are often featured on the singer\u2019s Instagram.<\/p>\n
Walker Hayes performs on Day 3 of the Country Summer Music Festival in Santa Rosa, Calif., on June 16, 2024. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Walker Hayes performs on stage at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona on June 5, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Walker Hayes at the CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence Awards in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 17, 2024. Getty Images<\/p>\n
The \u201cFancy Like\u201d singer has been vocal about his\u00a0struggles with alcoholism\u00a0in the past, often writing about his experiences in his songs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2024, Hayes released an album entitled \u201cSober Thoughts,\u201d which included songs discussing his experience abusing alcohol.<\/p>\n
While promoting the album, he appeared on \u201cToday with Hoda and Jenna\u201d and spoke with the hosts about the moment he decided to get sober after struggling with alcohol abuse for 20 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just woke up on a Saturday, and I just knew if I did this one more day, my body would be affected, some organ,\u201d he explained. \u201cI\u2019m not a scientist, I\u2019m not a doctor. I just woke up, and it felt like if I do it one more day, I might die.\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained that while \u201ceverybody loves a drinking song,\u201d he loves singing about his sobriety journey, writing one song a week about his \u201cfreedom from addiction,\u201d because of how grateful he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cSobriety, when you\u2019ve been drunk that long, you get addicted to it \u2014 the clarity, the pep in your step,\u201d he said on the show. \u201cYou go to the gym\u00a0and you\u2019re like, \u2018I feel like I\u2019m 17.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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