Luke Combs and his spouse Nicole Hocking weren't alone Thursday (May 11) on the 2023 ACM Awards red carpet. Hocking is pregnant with their second child— a son whose expected September arrival will make him less than two years younger than the couple's firstborn, Tex.
As for their outfits, Combs revisited his usual red carpet look with a blue-checkered blazer over black dress slacks and a slightly unbuttoned black dress shirt. Hocking shone in a glistening dress with fringe plus matching shoes and jewelry. Both would've stood out on the pre-show without it being Hocking's first high-profile appearance since her pregnancy announcement.
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Later in the night, Combs changed into his usual PFG shirt and ball cap look for a live rendition of Gettin' Old's romantic lead single, "Love You Anyway." He came back shortly after to duet with potential country crossover artist Ed Sheeran.
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The proud parents welcomed Tex Lawrence Combs on June 19, 2022 —which happened to be Father's Day— and shared photos of their newborn on Instagram. In a social media Q&A in July, Nicole revealed that their son's name had some personal meaning behind it. Tex was in honor of Luke's great uncle, and Lawrence was after her father.
In March 2023, the couple announced that they're expecting a second child. Combs has joked that half of his growing family will be the "2 under 2 club."
"We're getting ready," Combs told People on the red carpet. "We're just in it. We're in the trenches, taping grenades. [We're] excited for the second one. They're gonna be close [in age], but I feel like we'll be in practice."
For the second year in a row, the ACM Awards streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Combs was up for five awards, including Entertainer of the Year.
