Hannah Harper’s husband traded a police badge for a tour schedule, and she says the move changed their marriage.
The “American Idol” Season 24 winner told Fox News Digital that her husband left an eight-year career in law enforcement and joined her on the road full-time as her tour manager.
“It has definitely strengthened our marriage in ways that I didn’t even know those muscles worked, if that makes sense,” Harper said.
“My husband was in law enforcement for eight years and put his badge up just so that I could pursue this. And he was doing insurance there for a little while. We were going to try to just do, like, a work-on-the-road kind of thing. And then music just got too busy. And he was like, ‘You know what? I think I want to be tour manager.’ And I was like, ‘That’s perfect. I think you should do that.’”
Harper said the change came as her schedule ramped up after her “American Idol” win. She is on her first national tour and recently signed her first major brand partnership with Sargento after her original song “String Cheese” went viral during her time on the show.
Sargento is sponsoring the tour with a custom-wrapped bus stocked with snacks for Harper, her band, crew and family.
Harper said working together has also brought challenges.
“I think the biggest challenge now is because we’re both working is, ‘OK, when are off hours?’ You know, like when normal people go home, they’re done working for the day, but our work is at home. And so, it’s hard for us to be able to turn it off. But it’s so much fun for both of us to be building this together.”
Before winning “American Idol” Season 24, Harper had already started a family with her husband, Devon Mendenhall. The couple married in April 2018, welcomed their first son the following year and now have three boys.
She said having her family on the road has become one of the most rewarding parts of her success.
“My entire family is on the road with me, both of my brothers, my parents, my kids. And I think it’s so special that everyone has a role and a job, and everyone feels included.”
Harper also spoke about her husband’s decision to leave his job.
“But more than anything, I feel honored that he was willing to step down from his position. A lot of men wouldn’t do that. I think their pride would get in the way, and that man would bend over backwards for anything that I asked him to do.”
As her profile grows, Harper said Carrie Underwood gave her advice about handling fame and separating public life from private life.
“Carrie, just saying like social media, the stage presence that one has to have, it’s like a character basically, and you have to separate that character from reality, which is hard for me because I want them to be the same.”
“I want everyone to feel connected to me and know that I’m real and authentic, but there definitely has to be a separation on my stage mask and mom, if that makes sense. And so, I’m learning that very quickly and how important it is to be able to take it off and still be Mom and still be the Hannah I was before ‘American Idol.’”
Harper said one of the biggest surprises after winning the show was seeing “String Cheese” connect with listeners. The song was inspired by her experience with motherhood and postpartum depression.
“I am so emotionally connected to the people who are going through it,” Harper said. “In meet-and-greet lines… there are at least 50 of those are women who walked the exact same path as I did when it came to postpartum depression or just being in the trenches of motherhood. And getting to connect with them during their hardships… I relive all of those same emotions while talking to them and it still feels fresh.”
“And I think that it’s a song that continues to give, and I didn’t write it on my own. I think the Lord just kind of like laid it in my lap, and He’s used it to minister to people as well as me.”
Harper will stay on the road through November on her first national tour, with upcoming stops across the country and appearances alongside Brad Paisley and Lauren Alaina.
Read more from Fox News.
