Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner started off as co-contestants on American Idol and are now a growing family.
The musicians first met in 2018 while they were both competing on season 16 of American Idol. While neither singer walked away with the competition’s first place prize, they did come out of the experience in love. Barrett and Foehner’s TV romance quickly turned into a serious relationship, and the pair announced their engagement a year after their season of American Idol wrapped.
The couple wed in 2019 in a Texas ceremony surrounded by close family and friends. They have since welcomed one daughter and announced on Mother’s Day 2022 that they have a son on the way. “It is a blessing to find a husband or wife in this life, marriage is a profound and special thing, and we are so excited to finally be husband and wife,” Barrett said of her wedding to Foehner.
From American Idol competitors to life partners, here's everything you need to know about Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner's Relationship.
Barrett and Foehner met as contestants on season 16 of American Idol. The couple later reflected on their initial meeting in a 2020 mini-documentary for Amazon Music.
"I had saw him and I remember asking him to make a video together," Bartlett said.
"I saw you and I didn't come up to you though because I was nervous and then we took a picture together," Foehner added.
About a year after they first met, Barrett and Foehner announced that they were engaged. Foehner shared exclusive details about his proposal to Barrett with PEOPLE.
"I've been thinking about proposing for quite a while," Foehner said. "It's getting harder and harder to be apart. Doing all the traveling we have to do, sometimes we have to go a month without seeing each other. That's a little much for me, so I decided to go ahead and do this thing!"
However, the proposal wasn't exactly planned in advance and Foehner wasn't even carrying the ring with him at the time. When he realized during a trip to Los Angeles that the couple were staying at the same hotel they first met at, he thought, "It can't get any more right than this."
The music video for Barrett’s song “The Good Ones” was special in multiple ways. The heartwarming video featured Madeline Delp, who was named Ms. Wheelchair USA in 2017.
” ‘The Good Ones’ is such a special song to me — it’s inspired by my love story with my fiancé Cade, so I knew that the video needed to be just as special,” Barrett told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview about the music video, which Foehner makes a small cameo in at the end.
Barrett also said she "knew" she had to include Foehner in it: "The music video was going to portray another person's 'good one,' so I knew I needed to include mine!"
Barrett and Foehner tied the knot in Garrison, Texas, in front of 100 guests on Oct. 5, 2019. “We wanted a small, intimate wedding with close friends and family,” Barrett told PEOPLE ahead of the big day. The singer said they decided on their venue because of their love of Texas — where Foehner is from — and the woods.
The couple also wrote their own vows, and Barrett anticipated that they “absolutely” would cry as they exchanged them. “We’re both excited to make such a serious and holy commitment before the Lord, with our friends and family there to support us and celebrate,” Barrett said. “Becoming one family has been the thing we’ve looked forward to most.”
Fellow American Idol contestants in attendance included season 16 alums Caleb Lee Hutchinson — who was one of Foehner’s groomsmen — and Catie Turner.
Ahead of the release of her debut album Goldmine, Barrett shared with PEOPLE that Foehner had been the inspiration behind many of the songs on it.
“I think being married and in love and all of that changed how I write songs and what I want to sing about and the type of songs that I like,” Barrett told PEOPLE. “So I think this album was very much made up of songs that you’ll see a lot more of in the future — things about my life now and what I’ve been going through.”
Aside from being his wife's muse, Foehner also co-wrote the track "Got Me" with Barrett and lent his guitar skills to multiple songs. He even joined her touring band to ensure that the two would be together on the road.
In August 2020, Barrett and Foehner exclusively confirmed to PEOPLE that they were expecting a baby girl. The couple first found out about the pregnancy while visiting Foehner’s family in Texas.
"I remember taking the test and my eyes nearly crossed," said Barrett. "I was like, 'Wait, is that two lines?' I came running out to Cade and was just like, 'Oh my gosh, I think I am.' That's all that I said, and he knew what that meant. I started crying, and it was very sweet."
“I get to have two Gabbys!” Foehner said about the baby girl. “One’s not enough.”
As Barrett and Foehner’s one-year anniversary approached, the “I Hope” singer got some marriage advice from her personal idol, Dolly Parton.
"My husband and I have never fought. We've never bickered back and forth because I never wanted us to say bad things that we would have to remember," Parton told Barrett. "We get a little pissy now and then, but we'll just kind of walk off or go do something else and let that die down. You have to work at anything. Marriage is a business too, and you got to look at it like that. You got to make the right decisions for all the little things that come up."
Barrett performed her hit No. 1 single “I Hope” with Foehner at the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards, where she was up for best new female artist. Her growing baby bump was on full display in her glittery gold dress.
In October 2020, Amazon Music released the mini-documentary Breakthrough: Gabby Barrett, which detailed Barrett’s journey to releasing her debut album Goldmine in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Releasing an album during quarantine isn't your ideal release," Barrett said in the film. "It was different. I've never had this long of a break in my life in nine years. I was always just going, going, going."
She added that quarantine did make her and Foehner closer, though: "We just love spending time with family. That's something that we've loved during this time of isolation. We've been really thankful for that."
Foehner was very supportive of the documentary and said, "I'm so proud of my darling wife and all she's accomplished. It is such a joy to see her honored. This was a fun project to be a part of. Hoping y'all like it!"
Ahead of the birth of their daughter, Barrett sat down with PEOPLE to discuss her pregnancy experience and shared how great Foehner had been throughout it.
"He's just been very nice. He rubs my feet every single night. He's been extra, extra thoughtful," the soon-to-be mother said. "And pregnancy can sometimes bring on mood swings and all of those crazy things from the lovely hormones. He's just been very patient about it and very understanding."
Barrett and Foehner welcomed their daughter, Baylah May, on Jan. 18, 2021.
The new mom shared the news of Baylah’s arrival with an Instagram post. “Got to spend a very sweet week with our newest addition … meet our girl?,” the singer wrote in the caption.
After the arrival of their daughter, Barrett and Foehner’s priorities at home changed. “Oh my gosh, it’s awesome,” Barrett told PEOPLE. “It’s a whole new world, honestly. It’s so true all the cliché sayings — when you have kids, everything changes in your world; just flips upside down.”
"Now everything's kind of transformed from me doing it for myself, to me doing it for her now, and I would much rather have it that way," she continued. "She's just my whole world now. She's the sweetest, so it's really cool having her with me."
Barrett and Foehner walked the red carpet for the 2021 iHeart Radio Awards in matching black outfits. The event marked their first public appearance as parents.
The country music power couple were seen on the red carpet again in 2022 at the ACM Awards, showing off elaborate outfits and new hair looks.
On Mother’s Day 2022, Barrett and Foehner announced that they were expecting another baby.
Barrett shared the news on Instagram, posting a video of her ultrasound. She also revealed that they were expecting a baby boy. “My son. ?,” Barrett captioned the clip. “Another LIFE we get to love and cherish. Happy Mothers Day!”
Foehner shared the same video clip on his own Instagram, writing, “Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing, strong, and fruitful Bride! @gabbybarrett She is currently carrying another precious life made in the image of God. A son to bear our name into the next generation.”
Shortly after announcing her pregnancy, Barrett debuted her baby bump on the American Idol stage for a performance of her single “Pick Me Up” during the season 20 finale. Foehner also made his return to the show and accompanied his wife onstage.
Barrett celebrated Foehner on Father’s Day with a sweet Instagram tribute that praised him for being a great dad to their baby girl. “Happy Fathers Day firstly to my husband! What a great dad you are! We are so blessed & you are so needed in this family,” Barrett wrote alongside a series of photos of him and Baylah. The country singer also gave her own father a special shout-out and shared a picture of her and him on the last slide of the post.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
