Loretta Lynn Became Granny at 29 & Was 'Safe Place' for Grandkid Whose Support Is Now Gone after Her Death

• Loretta Lynn became a grandma at 29 when her oldest child welcomed a baby with the same name as the singer.

• The Lynn Family Matriarch doted on her 25 grandkids, 24 great-grandkids, and three great-great-grandkids despite the hardship of supporting such a huge family.

• Lynn had a close bond with her granddaughter, Tayla, who struggled with addiction.

Loretta Lynn was one of Hollywood's most beloved songstresses, who enjoyed a career spanning six decades in the music industry. She built a legacy for herself and bagged various awards, eventually becoming a role model to many upcoming country music artists.

Besides doing well in her professional life, Loretta succeeded in her personal life away from the spotlight. She managed to raise a family who brought her pride and joy until her last breath.

Watching her kids thrive and become successful was rewarding for Loretta, considering how she struggled to raise them as a teenage mother.

The country music singer was barely 16 when she decided to start a family with her husband, Oliver Lynn. The couple had first met at a social gathering at Loretta's school when she was only 14 years old.

Despite her age, the singer was sure that Oliver was the one. So one month after their first encounter, the pair walked down the aisle and moved to Washington.

A few months after their wedding, Loretta and Oliver started a family, and by the time the former was 18, she was already raising four children. The couple would go on to add two more children to the brood. For Loretta, raising six children as a young mother was not an easy feat.

But despite how difficult it was, she tried to raise them to the best of her abilities. Loretta loved her children and could not imagine life without them, so it was only normal for her to give it her all.

Thankfully, with perseverance and love for her kids, the Grammy award winner made it through the difficult years. Eventually, she became one of the best-selling country music singers of her time.

Loretta Became a Grandma at 29 and was Initially Not Happy

Loretta may have been famous for her bold step to marry and start a family early, but she was not the only member of her family to have given birth as a teenager. The singer's first daughter, Betty Sue, followed the same path, welcoming a child almost at the same age Loretta was when she married.

While many women would jump at the opportunity of becoming grandmothers, the "You Ain't Woman Enough" singer was not initially happy about having a grandchild.

According to Loretta, she and Betty had a close bond but being a singer made her travel a lot and prevented her from always being there for her daughter. The singer noted that as time progressed, Betty grew stubborn, doing the opposite of what her mother asked.

Then one day, Loretta returned from the road, and Betty revealed that she was getting married. The mom of six tried to persuade her daughter otherwise but was unsuccessful.

Not long after announcing her plans to get married, as a young teenager, Betty took in and eventually gave birth to her daughter, whom she named after Loretta. Later, she would welcome a second child, Audrey.

While being a mother weighed heavily on Betty because she was young, it wasn't easy for Loretta, who was also young and coping with motherhood — the singer was only 29 when she became a grandmother.

Nevertheless, Loretta tried her best to help Betty, and with time, she came to treasure her grandkids and appreciated her role as a grandmother.

Loretta, the Backbone of the Lynn Family

After welcoming her first two grandkids, Loretta's family continued to expand very quickly, and for the singer, it was not easy to maintain, but she did her best. The songstress took on the financial and personal burdens of her family members.

Regarding the personal burdens, Loretta was there for her second son when he had a kidney removed and had stillborn twins with his wife.

Also, she stood by Betty's side when the latter divorced and became a single mother to her two daughters. Ultimately, it is safe to say that the show business legend was the backbone of her family, but she had no problem with it.

To Loretta, family was everything, and as long as she had them around, she remained happy. The singer witnessed her family get even bigger as she grew older.

In the end, Loretta had four surviving children, 25 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

Tayla Lynn's Relationship with Her Grandmother, Loretta

Loretta undeniably had a close relationship with various members of her family, but there was someone the singer had a special connection with — her granddaughter, Tayla Lynn. Tayla is a singer and the daughter of Loretta's second son, Ernest.

Over the years, Tayla has opened up about her relationship with her grandma. During a 2021 interview, she recalled a time in her life when she went in the wrong direction, but her mother, Cindy, and Loretta helped put her back on the right track.

According to Tayla, she once struggled with addiction and did many things that brought disappointment to her mom and grandma. As the years progressed, the addiction grew worse, and at some point, Tayla desired to stop living.

But thanks to the singer's two major support systems — Cindy and Loretta— Tayla tried to stay out of trouble. Knowing how much her granddaughter loved to go on the road with her, Loretta would deprive Tayla of the experience if she did something disappointing.

As a result, Tayla tried to be on her best behavior. Then, in 1997, she got into rehab, and seven years later, she became truly sober for the first time. It was a transformation that Loretta and her daughter-in-law were proud of.

In the following years, Tayla ensured to keep making her mother and grandma proud by maintaining her sobriety, which she did. But in February 2018, Cindy suffered a stroke caused by smoking and poor eating habits. Five months later, she passed away.

With one main support gone, Tayla grew closer to the second, Loretta. But their closeness could only last for a few more years. On October 4, 2022, Loretta passed away peacefully in her sleep at her ranch in Tennessee.

It was difficult for Tayla to say goodbye to two of the closest people in her life for four years. According to the young singer, she was confused because she wanted to call her mom and grandma but could not.

"The thing is… I wanna call my Mama. She's not here so I wanna call my Granny. But she's not here so I wanna call Meemaw. So. I just," Tayla explained via a Facebook post.

Considering Tayla's close relationship with Loretta, dealing with her grandmother's absence would not be easy. But her fans are positive that, in the end, she will survive the pain.