In 2018, country singer Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner met when they were both contestants on season 16 of ABC's American Idol (a series judged by fellow country star Luke Bryan).
Barrett says that she liked him from the beginning and made the first move.
"I had to get to know him first," the 2021 CMT Artist of the Year honoree told PopCulture. "So the thing was, I saw him originally. He has a really cool look, my husband ... he has lots of hair, just super cool rocker dude, and I wanted to make a video with him of us singing together. And so I initiated it. I didn't think he liked me at first, but then he texted me and I was like, 'Oh I see what's going on here,' so it was a mutual thing, but I went after him first."
Gabby Barrett's Husband Cade Foehner + Their Love Story
(L-R) Cade Foehner and Gabby Barrett are seen performing onstage during day 1 of the 2021 Tortuga Music Festival on November 12, 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
(L-R) Cade Foehner and Gabby Barrett are seen performing onstage during day 1 of the 2021 Tortuga Music Festival on November 12, 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
The couple's American Idol journey set them on new paths, not just professionally, but personally. (Barrett finished in third place on season 16 and released her debut album Goldmine during the pandemic in 2020. Foehner was eliminated during Top 5 and is now performing as a solo artist.)
Gabby Barrett's Baby Daughter Baylah May
In Jan. 2021, the couple welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Baylah May Foehner.
"Gotten to spend a very sweet week with our newest addition.. meet our girl Baylah May Foehner," Barrett wrote on social media.
Foehner also shared an Instagram message about the newest addition to the family.
"The Lord Jesus has given me so much that I scarce can believe it," Foehner wrote. "Not only to be saved from sin because of His Gospel but to also be given a Wife who is not only my best friend in the whole wide world but who also has bore me a child.
I am a blessed man beyond my understanding."
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The first time parents announced to PEOPLE that they were expecting a baby back in Aug. 2020.
"We are very excited," the singer-songwriter told PEOPLE magazine. "The Lord has blessed us with a little one, and we're really excited to finally be able to share the news with everybody and just have a big old family celebration about it."
Barrett, a Munhall, Pennsylvania native, married Foehner in October 2019. Barrett told PEOPLE she found out in May that she'd soon be sporting a baby bump as a 20 year old.
"We were in Texas visiting Cade's side of his family," Barrett said. "And it's funny, because I did not think that I was. Around lunchtime, I remember taking the test and my eyes nearly crossed! I was like, 'Wait, is that two lines?' I came running out to Cade and was just like, 'Oh my gosh, I think I am.' That's all that I said, and he knew what that meant. I started crying, and it was very sweet."
American Idol Alum Gabby Barrett: One of Country Music's Newest Superstars
In this image released on December 31, Cade Foehner and Gabby Barrett perform during the New Year's Eve Live Nashville's Big Bash at Casa Rosa in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for The Green Room PR)
In this image released on December 31, Cade Foehner and Gabby Barrett perform during the New Year's Eve Live Nashville's Big Bash at Casa Rosa in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for The Green Room PR)
Barrett hit No. 1 in 2020 with her song "I Hope." Along with rising country artist Ingrid Andress, Barrett made Billboard history when both women's debut singles simultaneously made the top 10— a first in the chart's 30-year history.
In 2021, the country singer scored her second No. 1 hit with "The Good Ones." Foehner makes a cameo in the song's music video.
Barrett goes into 2022 as the reigning ACM New Female Artist of the Year. She'll co-host this year's ACM Awards on March 7 alongside Jimmie Allen and Dolly Parton.
The "I Hope" singer earned a Female Artist of the Year nomination, along with the stacked field of Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Carly Pearce.
Award shows have been kind to Barrett in recently memory, including a three-trophy haul at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.
This story was previously published on Oct. 13, 2021 and updated on March 2, 2022.
