Miranda Lambert had a difficult divorce with ex Blake Shelton. The two actually originally got together in somewhat of a scandalous way — Blake was married, and Miranda was engaged to someone else. But when they met, they felt as if they had to be together and changed the course of their lives in order to do so.
The marriage lasted until 2015. Immediately afterward, Miranda jumped into a relationship with Anderson East. That didn't work out, but she met NYPD officer Brendan McLoughlin in 2018 and instantly felt like he was the one.
She was so fascinated by him that the two had a secret wedding just three months after meeting. That can be seen as a red flag for many, but after a rocky divorce, Miranda knew what she wanted.
Miranda and Brendan married in January of 2019. And now she's opening up about what the relationship is like — and how it's different from other relationships she's been in. She chatted with SiriusXM's The Storme Warren Show and talked honestly about how she was still in the process of getting to know him. Usually, that's something that most spouses don't need to deal with.
Miranda openly admitted that all this time together has really strengthened their bond in ways she didn't expect. It may seem strange and out of order for many of us, but Miranda has been in plenty of relationships prior. And maybe this extended time together — instead of constantly being on tour — was something her other relationships lacked.
"We didn't date very long before we got married," she admitted. "And so we sort of got to just really, really, really get to know each other. 'Cause it was just us two with no distraction, at my farm outside of Nashville. And so I was really thankful for it because it made us really strong."
This time at home has been very telling for many couples. While many relationships, like Miranda's, have seemed to flourish, it's been too much for others. Especially musicians, who are used to being out on the road for a portion of time every year. If you think about Miranda and Blake's relationship, they were often in different states at different times.
Miranda admits that many people she knows have seen their relationships strengthen during the time together at home. "I think it did that for a lot of couples, especially a lot of my friends don't really see their significant other because we're different directions all the time," she said. "But with everything that happened last year, I think everybody was forced to sort of reconnect with themselves and with people that they really love and that are close to them."
Miranda seems so sure about this relationship that she did something she's never done with a significant other before — she featured Brendan in a video. "We shot it at my farm, and I've never had a love interest in a video my entire career," she said. "And so I figured why not my husband who happens to be caught here and free."
"So we — he did great," she added. "He — he loved it. He was — he was a champ, and I got to ride my real horse Gibson and in a cape. I'm like, what kind of Princess Bride fairy tale is this? It's awesome." The song in question is called "Settling Down."
So who is Brendan McLoughlin? It's a fair question. While Blake was more visible, Brendan's lack of star power prior to hooking up with Miranda may have been yet another factor in their relationship's success. Born in 1991, he's reportedly 30 years old and was born in Staten Island.
The two reportedly met while Miranda was doing an appearance for Good Morning America. He was stationed at Times Square at the time, and he managed to meet the singer. The two had a ton of chemistry and privately wed not long after in Davidson County, Tennessee.
That said, he came with plenty of controversies. Prior to meeting Miranda, Brendan was attached to Jackie Bruno. Jackie was with Brendan for reportedly two years, and they were engaged. The timing is very suspicious, with Brendan possibly living a double life for some time. Her mom, Carol, spoke to Us Weekly about what happened, saying, "[Jackie] just wants to say that he’s just a lying, cheating, no good piece of garbage."
This revelation adds to Miranda's pattern of suspicious dating situations. Remember, she and Blake left their initial partners for each other. But that's not it. Just three days after Brendan and Miranda met, Brendan had a baby named Landon with yet another woman — Kaihla Rettinger. Brendan was reportedly seeing Jackie and Kaihla at the same time.
It would be interesting to know when he came clean to Miranda about his dating past. But no matter what, he's learned one of the biggest rules of Hollywood already. And that is, if you have a shady past, it'll eventually get uncovered. Jackie's mom, Carol, told the press, "He was at my house and ate dinner with her father and I at our house almost every night while his pregnant baby mama was at his place."
Hopefully, Brendan isn't conning Miranda like he appeared to do with his other two girlfriends. Otherwise, it might be tough for Miranda to recover from. However, with this stay-at-home year, hopefully the two of them have been on the same page about their commitment to each other.
Relationships can be tough to manage. Every day, you need to put the work in. While Miranda and Brendan seem to have a great life together, it's important that they build trust in each other. It seems as if trust was a big factor in the relationships they left behind, so hopefully that's one of the areas they've managed to strengthen.
