John Osborne + Lucie Silvas — Country’s Greatest Love Stories
John Osborne and Lucie Silvas are a musical power couple who came together thanks to (what else?) music.
The pair first met in 2007, at a songwriting session. In a 2016 interview with The Bluegrass Situation, Osborne -- one-half of Brothers Osborne -- joked that he had "ulterior motives" for the collaboration.
"I wasn’t there to write a song as much as I was there to meet Lucie," he admitted, "and somehow not make a complete a-- out of myself."
While Silvas wasn't necessarily thinking romance, she, too, was trying to be cool.
"The first time we wrote together, I think we were both — well, I’ll speak for myself — I was nervous," she shares. "I was in a new place, and I was excited. I was trying to impress in lots of ways and just keep my cool. We just had fun collaborating."
Osborne and Silvas' co-writing relationship continued over the years — and, at some point along the way, a romance blossomed. In June of 2015, the couple got married in their living room in front of their beloved goldendoodle and three people: a minister, Silvas' pal Sonya Jisinski and Maren Morris. Calling himself the "luckiest redneck guitar player in the world" — and Silvas "my best friend and greatest inspiration on Earth" — Osborne shared the news on Instagram with a black-and-white photo of the couple holding hands.
"We just decided to just do it," Osborne told the Capital Gazette in 2016. "[Brother] TJ [Osborne] was out of town that day. Our families didn't know. We're very spontaneous and left of center on most things. We like to do things our way."
He's not kidding: Because the wedding wasn't planned in advance, Osborne and Silvas exchanged candy ringpops rather than actual jewelry. (A few months later, the pair held an official reception and party in East Nashville.)
What keeps Osborne and Silvas going is attraction, of course — in 2017, Silvas made for Osborne a guitar pick printed with a photo of her cleavage — but also mutual respect.
"Anyone that’s as gifted as she is, at singing and conveying a song, needs to be heard," Osborne told The Bluegrass Situation when discussing Silvas' 2015 album Letters to Ghosts. "It would be criminal for her not to be heard, for anyone at her level to be silent.
"As a producer, it’s really difficult if the artist isn’t great. It’s almost impossible if the artist isn’t good," he added. "But, with Lucie, she’s so amazing as a vocalist and as a conveyer and as a songwriter that it makes your job kind of easy."
Added Silvas in a separate interview to Six Shooter Country, discussing her husband: "He’s so sweet, and he’s such an incredible talent. I watch him sometimes, and I’m blown away. He’s so humble and just wants to have fun in his life. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, so when he’s up there … Sometimes you see people onstage, and it’s life and death to them. It really isn’t for him. He just loves it."