The Heartbreaking Details About Lauren Alaina's Personal Life
During Lauren Alaina's time on "American Idol" Season 10, she emerged as one of the more memorable contestants on the reality series. The singer was only 15 years old when she auditioned and was encouraged to try out for the singing competition by her cousin Holly, who sadly, had a brain tumor. Holly accompanied Alaina to the audition and stood by as she watched Alaina sing Faith Hill's, "Like We Never Loved At All." The performance wowed all three of the judges, with Randy Jackson declaring, "Best I've seen today in Nashville."
Alaina went on to make it to the finale, but an issue with her vocal cords threatened her possible win. "American Idol" music director Michael Orland told Entertainment Weekly that the young star was unable to sing any notes after weeks of rehearsals and performances. Thankfully, a doctor prescribed medication that brought down the swelling of Alaina's vocal cords. Unfortunately, she lost to Scotty McCreery, which is just one of the many heartbreaking moments Alaina has had to deal with over the course of her life.
Lauren Alaina had an eating disorder while on American Idol
The following contains mention of an eating disorder.
It's heartbreaking to think that Lauren Alaina was going through insecurities with her body while she was on "American Idol" as a teenager. Her eating disorder began when she was 12 years old after comparing herself to other girls at school. "I was in a health class and they showed a girl who had bulimia and she was a really, really small girl and I remember thinking, 'Oh that's what you have to do to be skinny? OK,'" Alaina told Self in 2017. "The video was showing how she ended up being hospitalized, but I just saw that she was skinny and I wanted to be skinny so bad, that that's what stuck in health class, which is so sad," she added.
Alaina's eating disorder continued throughout her time on "American Idol." She shared on the "Better Tomorrow with Hannah Brown" podcast that being on television only made her body image issues worse. "People commented a lot on my weight, which, what kind of evil humans can comment on a 16-year-old child is beyond me now. But as that 16-year-old child, it got very bad for a while," the "Doin' Fine" singer recalled.
Alaina got treatment at 18 years old and learned to have a healthy relationship with food. She now uses her platform to help others with eating disorders.
If you need help with an eating disorder or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
Lauren Alaina's grandmother's death was tragic
Although Lauren Alaina failed to win "American Idol," she went on to record her debut album, "Wildflower." The track list includes the heartrending song, "The Locket" that centers on a grandmother sharing stories about her life with her granddaughter. The track is near and dear to Alaina, who lost her grandmother when the singer was only 11 years old. She told USA Today (via Taste of Country) that her grandfather had called in the middle of the night to tell her family that his wife was dying. "I could hear her gasping in the background, and Papaw was crying," Alaina recalled. "I ran downstairs, crying, 'Mama, something's wrong with my nana.'" Alaina remembers getting to her grandparent's house and running inside ahead of her parents. Alaina's mom tried to revive her grandmother, but tragically, she was gone.
While on "Dancing with the Stars," Alaina danced to Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" and told the cameras that she dedicated her set to her late grandmother, calling her "the sassiest woman I ever met," per iHeart. She stated, "[And] if I can even have a teeny, tiny bit of that, we're gonna nail it." She and her partner Gleb Savchenko received high marks, so she must have channeled that sass pretty well.
Lauren Alaina's cousin was in a coma after a brain bleed
After "American Idol," Lauren Alaina's next stint on a competition show was "Dancing with the Stars" from 2018 to 2019. After a performance with her partner Gleb Savchenko, Alaina revealed (via Taste of Country), "My cousin Holly had a brain bleed and she slipped into a coma earlier this week. I went home and we missed a few days of rehearsals. And I was like really stressed and my family told me to come here and I want to dedicate the dance to you, Holly."
Thankfully, Holly was already on the mend when Alaina broke the news. As reported by People, the country singer revealed that although things looked dire at first, her cousin was able to breathe without support and even gave her doctors a thumbs up. "I called my aunt earlier today and my aunt let me talk to [Holly] and I said, 'I am going to dance tonight. I am going to dance for you,' and she wiggled when I was talking to her," Alaina shared.
Lauren Alaina's stepfather died from cancer
Lauren Alaina has gone through many heartbreaking losses, including that of her grandparents, and in October 2018, she announced the death of her stepfather, Sam Ramker, who had stage 4 cancer. "My stepdad, Sam, went to heaven at one o'clock this morning. He was the purest example of how to love and live life fully," the "Wings of an Angel" singer wrote on Instagram. "He opened his eyes last night. They shined the brightest I've ever seen anyone's eyes shine, and he said, 'Jesus.' We said, 'What do you see Sam?' He said, 'It's so beautiful,'" Alaina described of his final moments. He told them that he saw "heaven" and died peacefully an hour later.
Following her stepfather's death, Alaina wrote "The Other Side" as a tribute to him. As reported by Rolling Stone, the songwriter shared, "I wanted to create a song that did him justice. He couldn't hear me sing without crying because he was so proud of me ... I wrote this song so that he can live on, and never be forgotten."
Dancing with the Stars was brutal on Lauren Alaina's body
Everyone knows that being a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" is a lot tougher than you think — Lisa Vanderpump famously fainted during Season 16. Whether or not that dizzy spell was real or a ploy to get out of grueling rehearsals, Lauren Alaina's health issues plagued the singer during her time on the dancing competition. "It's just so hard and my feet hurt and I have like blisters, and my back [is in pain]. I feel like someone strung me up by my hands and hit me with a baseball bat a few times," she told Us Weekly.
The pain didn't end there. After performing the tango with Gleb Savchenko, Alaina revealed that she had hurt four of her ribs. She told the judges, "When [Carrie Ann Inaba] said my core looked strong I looked straight at Gleb because all I have been trying to do is pretend my ribs aren't broken this whole competition. I fractured the one on the left the first week of the show and I haven't had these X-rayed, but they don't feel great." Savchencko gave Alaina props for holding her own despite the pain and gushed about how proud he was of her.
Lauren Alaina's ex was accused of sexual misconduct
The following contains mention of sexual harassment.
In 2019, Lauren Alaina confirmed her relationship with comedian John Crist on "The Bobby Bones Show." However, a few months later, she revealed on "Dancing with the Stars" that she and Crist were no longer together, Billboard reported. "I went through a breakup two weeks before I came on this show. Kind of a crazy time, but being on 'Dancing with the Stars' has been the perfect recipe for healing my broken heart," Alaina shared.
The news of the breakup came just days after Charisma News reported that Lauren Alaina's ex was in the middle of a controversy. Crist was accused of meeting a young woman, giving her alcohol, and then trying to persuade her to have sex with him. The woman, who was dubbed Kate, stated, "The one thing that stopped me from believing he was creepy is John so proudly parades his face as a Christian. I've let myself believe that just because someone is a Christian means they won't do something intentionally bad." Crist had allegedly tried to manipulate several other women over seven years. Following the allegations, Alaina told ET, "I have not talked to him recently, no. But I wish him and everyone in his story the best. I'm not really involved in that."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).