‘American Idol’ Alum Emmy Russell Reveals She Secretly Got Married
A lot has happened for Emmy Russell over the past year. Not only did she make it to the Top 5 of American Idol Season 22, but the Tennessee native, and granddaughter of country legend Loretta Lynn, also welcomed her first child with her longtime partner, Tyler Ward.
Emmy had kept her pregnancy a secret for quite a while. She surprised fans with the news in December, and just one month later, she went into labor.
On social media, the couple shared updates as Emmy entered the hospital, revealing that she had a tough delivery. She ended up losing 1.6 liters of blood during the process and later received a blood transfusion. However, after the challenges that the “Skinny” singer faced, she welcomed a healthy baby girl on Friday, January 31.
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Both Emmy and her newborn daughter were discharged from the hospital shortly after and were able to come home.
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Being a first-time parent isn’t the only life-changing event that Emmy has had recently. It turns out that she and Tyler Ward secretly tied the knot.
In an exclusive announcement to PEOPLE, Emmy and Tyler revealed that they had actually gotten married in a private ceremony sometime over the last few months.
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Tyler, who has been dating Emmy for years, told the outlet that marriage wasn’t something he had originally envisioned for himself. However, after reflecting on his life with her, he realized that it was the right step for them.
“Emmy and I had been together for a while, and her heart was just like, ‘I want to be married.’ And then I’m like, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be married,'” Tyler said. “And then you think about losing someone that you become best friends with and tight with and you’re like, ‘Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe that’s what marriage is. It’s just like, I don’t want this person out of my life.'”
The couple isn’t into extravagant or fancy celebrations, so they decided on a simple, intimate ceremony in their living room, complete with a wedding cake from Kroger.
“We told everybody so last minute because we wanted to make sure it was for us and not everybody else,” Tyler shared. “We wrote our own vows. And it was one of those things where you’re like, this to me is how it’s supposed to be because it was between us.”
Congratulations to Emmy and Tyler on all of their recent life updates! See photos of their adorable family below.