How faith, family and music helped Luke Bryan rebound from tragedy
"You'll never get back to 100 percent," he admitted.
— -- At 41 years old, country superstar Luke Bryan has had enough success to last four lifetimes. But he's also had his fair share of tragedy, something the Georgia native has taken in stride.
The "That's My Kind of Night" singer welcomed Robin Roberts into his home for the ABC special "Living Every Day: Luke Bryan" and gave the "Good Morning America" co-anchor unfettered and exclusive access to the real Bryan, who just happens to be the same fun-loving guy millions of fans have enjoyed on stage.
"There is no act," Luke Bryan's wife, Caroline Bryan, told ABC News.
But Luke Bryan credits Caroline Bryan with putting "the family dynamic first," even through five hit studio albums, more than a dozen top Billboard singles and millions and millions of albums sold worldwide.
"I think sometimes you get wrapped up in, you're career and all that," Luke Bryan told Roberts. "She doesn't buy into what old Lukey boy is selling her a lot."
Next month, the duo will celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary and if it really is Luke Bryan's college sweetheart who has shown him that family comes first, he's truly followed her lead.
After losing his brother, Chris Bryan, in a car accident more than 20 years ago and then his sister Kelly Bryan more than a decade later, tragedy struck his family yet again in 2014.
Kelly Bryan's husband, Ben Lee Cheshire, died unexpectedly and Luke Bryan's nieces and nephew were suddenly without a father or a mother. Luke and Caroline Bryan decided to take in their three children with no questions asked.
"We never thought twice about it," Caroline Bryan added about taking the children into their family. "You know, it was never something that he and I had to sit down and talk about, you know, should we take this on? We just did it."
But something that took a little getting used to was raising a teenager in nephew Til, now 15.
"We’re buddies now, though, kinda," Luke Bryan joked. "Until he makes me ... that's when I get onto him, I'm like, 'Alright, you're making me be an adult, don't make me be an adult!'"
But being 15 also means learning to drive and independence.
"He's just slow poking around, and I'm like ... I mean, I'm like the worst parent, because I'm like, 'C'mon boy, go!'" Luke Bryan added.
Along with the love and support of his wife, Luke Bryan said his faith helps him "appreciate every day."
Along with Bryan's tragedies, Caroline also lost her niece, Sadie Brett, in early 2017 when she was just seven months old.
"I've watched my family go through ebbs and flows where we get mad at God and we get mad at why this has happened," he admitted. "Well, you keep going and you try to, try to be as positive as you can, and you try to appreciate every day. You'll never get back to 100 percent. You'll always be working to get back to 75 percent."
The "Drink a Beer" hitmaker said that while he's had his fair share of tragedy, he knows how blessed he is in other aspects of his life.
"Me and my family have gotten together and celebrated and cried over winning entertainer of the year," he explained. "It certainly makes it special when we're all together and we know that people are smiling down, and they're, they're with us, celebrating these amazing moments ... music has certainly helped us through this old, this old crazy ride of life."
WATCH: "Living Every Day: Luke Bryan": A Robin Roberts special presentation, airing Monday, Nov. 6, at 10 ET/9 CT on ABC.