When Miranda Lambert’s not on the road, she loves to kick back with her husband, Brendan McLoughlin — and the ever-growing menagerie of animals they keep on their farm.
Lambert, 40, purchased the sprawling property (located outside Nashville) in 2016. While a farm may seem like a quiet place to retreat from the noise of a tour bus, the couple’s furry friends keep them pretty busy.
“I’ve got six horses,” the country singer tells Us Weekly in her exclusive cover interview. “Two mini horses, three shelter cats and two goats named Taco and Tuesday.”
The Grammy winner is also known for keeping lots of dogs, but right now she has only two, both of whom are seniors: a 14-year-old chihuahua named Cher and an 11-year-old retriever named Bellamy.
“I lost two in the last three months, so it’s part of it,” she explains. “It’s not fun at all, but the love is worth it.”
McLoughlin and Lambert tied the knot in 2019 after a whirlwind romance. While the former police officer is originally from New York City, the country star says he’s adjusted well to life in the country.
“We’re pretty chill. When we’re off work, I’m in my patio hang vibe,” she explains. “We’ll make drinks and listen to music. Sometimes we’ll have the best parties just by ourselves. He loves what he calls ‘happy hour music’ — Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls. So we have different tastes, but we’ll sit there for hours and listen. Sometimes I say to him, ‘We kind of live on a date,’ which is pretty awesome.”
Settling into a quieter life helped Lambert gear up to work on her upcoming 10th studio album, Postcards From Texas, due out Friday, September 13.
“I made this with a new energy, kind of like the energy I had at 19 making my first album,” she says of the LP, which she recorded in her native Texas. “This record feels like you made it home, and you’re like, ‘I’m going to send you some letters from home for a while.’”
Shortly after the album debuts, Lambert will celebrate the 15th anniversary of her MuttNation Foundation with a benefit concert in October.
“I’m really excited when you can mix your two passions, which for me is music and mutts,” she says. “It’s pretty magical, and I’ve got friends on board to come celebrate with me. … When you get to a certain place in your career, you get to pick something that you want to use your platform for. And it was always animals for me, just growing up in the country and having stray dogs around all the time, so I’m really thankful to do that. All my peers too are always on board. Anytime I ask for anything from MuttNation, they’re always happy to give, and it’s given a voice to the voiceless and that’s important.”
For more with Lambert, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.