Miranda Lambert’s beaming smile can be seen from miles away, but behind her pearly whites are years of ups and downs.
The powerhouse vocalist recently (June 29) caught up with People to dish out how she maintains a work-life balance, what it was like falling in love again, and to reveal that her mother, Beverly June Lambert is officially cancer-free.
While many believe that fame and fortune is the key to happiness, Lambert clarified that success can’t solve every problem.
“Finding happiness and being at peace with yourself, it’s a long journey, but I’ve really gotten to a great place,” the 38-year-old told the outlet. “My manager’s been good about asking me to ’sit in my life.’ Country music is a huge part of my life, but it’s not fully who I am.”
Lambert recently released her ninth studio album “Palomino,” which is one of the four records she pumped out within the last three years. While keeping her eye on the prize and hardly coming up for air – she scored a Las Vegas residency, opened up a bustling bar in downtown Nashville, launched a fashion line, maintains a successful nonprofit [MuttNation Foundation], and created new music with the Pistol Annies. Although Lambert has built an empire, it took her a decent amount of time to strike a fine work-life balance.
“It’s really about balance of life and work for me right now,” said Lambert before explaining that she will be pumping the breaks and giving herself more time to breathe in the near future. “I’ve been touring for 20 years, and I’ve been everywhere and seen nothing — just a lot of parking lots. I’m trying to use my downtime to really experience life. I always get the boring months off, and I’m like, ’Can I just have a sunshiny month off?’ So July 1, I’m out of here, and I’m taking my Airstream,” she added.
The “If I Was a Cowboy” singer mentioned that it was her 30th birthday, when she experienced a small epiphany.
“When I turned 30, I started to take life in a new direction and really start to understand myself a little better,” she said. “And going through hard things obviously makes you get to know yourself better. When you get broken down pretty good, you look at the mirror, and you go, ’I have to spend some time with me, learn who I am and what I want.’ I got to a really good place with myself. Then I met my husband.”
The confident and empowering songstress dated Brendan McLoughlin for only three short months, until she decided to tie the knot with the former NYPD officer in 2019. McLoughlin is Lambert’s second husband, as she split from country superstar Blake Shelton in 2015. Despite the public divorce and outside opinions on her new relationship, Lambert told People that she’s head over heels for McLoughlin.
“I want to be open about how happy we are,” the hitmaker stressed. “I just don’t give two s—s about people’s opinion of me, my marriage, my music, or anything else. I just care that I’m being me. He jumped right into this lifestyle — there’s a learning curve taking a New Yorker straight to the woods — but it was a big laugh. It’s nice to have a partner in that, someone by your side that supports you, loves you, and believes in you. He loves me for me. It’s a really cool thing to have in my life, at this point in my life.”
The two now split their time between Tennessee and New York, where her husband has a 3-year-old son from a previous romance. While navigating their new life together, the GRAMMY Award winner also made several visits back home to Texas to care for her mother who was battling cancer.
Lambert shared that her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last September, but revealed that she is now in remission. The multi-platinum artist said she’s doing “really well” and “ready to roll.”
“I was able to be with her through the hardest parts. She’s unstoppable. She’s just been so strong and positive through the whole thing. It’s a good lesson for people to take away from a journey like that: Even though it’s a really scary place to be, the more positive, the better,” she said. “There were big milestones and pools of tears on some days, yet we stayed hand in hand and did the entire walk together as a family.”
The long nights praying for a speedy recovery and trips to the hospital, has altered her perspective on life.
“All I want to do is dream, live in the moment, and spend time doing things I love with my friends and family,” she declared. “Because this thing with my mom has taught me we don’t have them forever.”
Although the last few years have been a whirlwind for Lambert, she said she wouldn’t change anything for the world.
“Without the hard stuff — the chaos, the crazy schedule, the heartbreak, the falling in love, the falling out of love — I wouldn’t be who I am,” she added.
Lambert is slated to perform at music festivals nationwide. Lambert is set to bring her Texas twang to sin city for a 24-date residency starting in September of 2022. Velvet Rodeo: The Las Vegas Residency is expected to take place at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. For upcoming appearances and tickets, visit mirandalambert.com.
