Alan Jackson and his wife Denise are celebrating a happy new chapter in their family: The singer’s oldest daughter, Mattie Jackson Smith, is expecting a baby in 2024.
That’s the second grandchild for the country legend, and also the second boy to be born into the youngest generation of the family. Jackson shared his reaction to the happy news on his social media, including one snapshot of Mattie and her husband Connor Smith holding up an ultrasound photo.
He also included a family shot of Mattie and Conner posing with him and Denise. It looks as if this photo might have been taken when Mattie broke the news to her parents that she was expecting: Jackson and Denise are holding up a card that reads “Grandbaby #2″ in script, and Denise is holding a blue pacifier, perhaps a nod to the baby-to-be’s sex.
“Blessings are overflowing in our growing family!” the singer wrote in the caption of his post. “Denise and I are thrilled for our second grandson to arrive in June! We’re so happy for proud parents Mattie and Connor Smith and can’t wait to meet the next addition to our family.”
Mattie first announced her pregnancy on Friday (Feb. 9.)
“I feel like I said so many times last year that 2023 topped the charts with more joy and celebration and and redemption than any yet. Well, I have a feeling 2024 may give it a run for [its] money,” she shared at the time.
- 33-year-old Mattie Jackson Smith is the oldest of Alan Jackson’s three daughters.
- She married Connor Smith in Florida last May. This will be the couple’s first child.
- Mattie was previously married to Ben Selecman, who died in 2018.
Related: Inside Alan Jackson’s 44-Year Love Story With Wife, Denise
One day after her baby announcement post, Mattie shared a longer reflection about the nature of grief, and the pain of waiting for life stages that might take longer to arrive than hoped.
She didn’t speak directly about her late husband in that post, but she did acknowledge the “secondary losses of grief” and how “the constant wondering (worrying?) if I’d ever get to be a mom” weighed heavily on her before and in the early stages of her pregnancy.
“I lay at our 20-week ultrasound this week for 15/20-minutes with a stream of warm, joyful tears flowing down my face. And as the not-so-warm, very down-to-business nurse pushed and poked at my belly, and I DID NOT WIPE THEM AWAY, because REJOICE,” Mattie wrote. “Thank you, Jesus. Years of waiting and hoping is finally a reality, and I will not brush that away.”
The Nashville native has been open about her journey since her husband’s accidental death in 2018. Her book Lemons on Friday describes her journey and how she relied on her faith to help her through.
Alan Jackson and Denise are already grandparents to Jackson Bradshaw, who was born to their daughter Ali in December 2022.
