LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin attend the 65th GRAMMY Awards on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Miranda Lambert's Surprise Marriage to Brendan McLoughlin Has Stood the Test of Time

It's been over four years since Miranda Lambert shocked fans with the news that she was a newlywed. The country superstar married then-unknown Brendan McLoughlin on Jan. 26, 2019. After multiple years of seeing McLoughlin by his spouse's side, what once seemed out of the blue now looks like true love.

The couple makes a big deal about its anniversary each year on social media. In 2023, Lambert posted a carousel of photos snapped in paradise.

"Celebrating [four] years married today with my main squeeze [McLoughlin]," she captioned the set of photos. "Happy anniversary babe! You are the best."

Though he mostly lays low, McLoughlin's always there with Lambert for awards shows and other industry events. For instance, they were among the most stylish couples on the 2023 Grammy Awards' red carpet.

"It's nice to have a partner in that, someone by your side that supports you, loves you and believes in you," Lambert told People. "He loves me for me. It's a really cool thing to have in my life, at this point in my life."

How Did Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin Meet?

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 10: Brendan Mcloughlin attends the 55th annual Country Music Association awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 10, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

In an Oct. 2019 Q&A with the New York Times' Rob Tannenbaum, Lambert broke her relative silence on her husband, revealing that Pistol Annies bandmates Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe saw to it that their single friend met the former New York City police officer.

"I met my husband doing press for the Pistol Annies record, this time last year," Lambert shared. "Our record came out the day after Halloween, and we did 'Good Morning America.' My husband was doing security there for the show. My girlfriends, the Annies, saw him and knew I might be ready to hang out with someone. They invited him to our show behind my back. They plucked him for me. My security guy Tom, he was in on it too. He said to me, 'He's here. And he's pretty.' [Laughs] Now the Pistol Annies have three husbands, two ex-husbands, three children, a stepson and 23 animals. We've done a lot in nine years!"

The ex-wife of fellow county artist Blake Shelton, Lambert married McLoughlin on Jan. 26, 2019 at a farm right outside of Nashville. Somehow, the newlyweds kept their nuptials secret from fans, the press and social media influencers until right after Valentine's Day.

Early in the marriage, McLoughlin, who has a son from a previous relationship, balanced his dangerous life as an NYPD officer with something else intense: red carpets and other obligations that come with marrying a country music superstar.

"He just takes it like a champ," Lambert told People (as quoted by MSN) about her husband's first time brushes with celebrity culture. "He's better at it than I am."

Per a March 2, 2020 report by Access Hollywood, McLoughlin retired from the New York Police Department the prior month. He was working security on his country star wife's Wildcard Tour until it got postponed due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic precautions.

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This story originally ran on Oct. 30, 2019. It was updated on May 11, 2023.