Dan + Shay fans have the singers’ wives—Abby Smyers and Hannah Mooney—to thank for some of the country music duo’s biggest hits.
Dan and Abby have been married since May 2017, and these animal lovers share four dogs: Joy, Ghost, Chief, and Macaroni. Shay and Hannah tied the knot a few months later, in October 2017. They share four children: Asher, Ames, Abram, and Aubrey.
Dan + Shay are known for writing romantic songs; many of their hits—including “Speechless” and “Glad You Exist”—are inspired by their wives.
“We write all these songs and feel inspired because we have incredible wives; we have the opportunity to compose and write about what we know. We are both married, and we know what it means to be loved,” Shay told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 in 2022.
Here is everything you need to know about Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney’s wives, Abby Smyers and Hannah Mooney.
Dan and Abby wed in 2017
Born Abby Law, this marketing executive is a Chiefs fan originally from the Kansas City area, where her father, Mike Kennedy, is a retired radio personality and a supporter of the Country Radio Hall of Fame.
She met Dan in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2013, and the couple got engaged on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii on November 18, 2016.
“I think we’ve acted like [partners] for the last few years, so it will be nice to make it official,” Dan told PEOPLE magazine when he shared their engagement photos in March 2017. “Just the way things worked out when we met—we are just so committed to each other when we’re together.”
Dan and Abby tied the knot in a sunset ceremony in Nashville—the city where, according to Dan, they “built their love story”—on May 13, 2017.
The couple has no children, but they are the proud parents of four dogs: Joy, Ghost, Chief, and Macaroni. The first three were part of their wedding party; Dan joked to PEOPLE that the pups were “the most important bridesmaids and groomsmen.”
“The father of our canines. The keeper of my heart. The hardest-working man I know. My best friend. My partner. My husband. Thank you for making my dreams come true and for choosing me to walk by your side in this life,” Abby wrote on Instagram shortly thereafter.
In May 2024, the couple celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary. Abby commemorated the date with an Instagram post, writing: “I know with certainty that we would have always found each other. I love you with immense depth. Happy anniversary, @dansmyers.”
Dan replied in the comments: “I love you so much! And even more with every passing year. I can’t believe 7 years have already gone by. Happy anniversary to my favourite person in the world,” he expressed.
Dan and Abby are animal lovers.
Dogs occupy a central place in Dan and Abby’s relationship; in fact, the couple met at a Nashville-based animal rescue centre, according to *Country Living*.
When Dan shared the news of their engagement on Instagram, he wrote: “We’ll rescue all the animals together—FOREVER,” alongside a selfie featuring Abby’s ring and a rainbow on the Hawaiian horizon.
Rescue dogs remain deeply important to the couple, who volunteer and foster animals through the organisation *Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue* in Tennessee. Additionally, the couple sponsored a section of the *Wags & Walks Nashville* adoption centre, which opened in July 2023.
Dan credits Abby for keeping him on a positive path
When Dan + Shay hit a rough patch, they leaned on their wives and kept going.
“She continues to save my life every day, honestly. I don’t have enough words to praise her. She has a perspective on life that is so different from mine,” the singer behind the hit “You” told PEOPLE in 2023, referring to Abby. “She sees only hope, positivity, optimism, and everything good.”
Abby also helps Dan stay grounded when he starts to “complain or lose control.”
“She helped me get through the dark times, when I was feeling down,” he explained. “Who knows? Maybe I would have quit music or moved back to my hometown, but she guided me out of that darkness and managed to calm me down.”
Abby helped inspire the title of Dan + Shay’s album Bigger Houses
Abby—who appeared in Dan + Shay’s music videos for “Nothin’ Like You” and “10,000 Hours”—inspired the title of the band’s fifth album, *Bigger Houses*, which was also immortalised in the record’s title track.
“That was her line,” Dan explained. “Everyone is always looking at Zillow,” Abby remarked. “Wow, we’re always talking about bigger houses when we already have so much right now.” We don’t need bigger houses. We have everything we need: the people we love.'”
Both Abby and Hannah inspired much of the *Bigger Houses* album.
“@abbysmyers + @hannah.billingsley: not only did you inspire these songs, but you believed in us every step of the way—a journey we know hasn’t always been easy,” Dan + Shay wrote, in part, on Instagram. “We are more grateful for your love and support than we could ever express in words.”
The singers’ wives have also served as muses for several of Dan + Shay’s hits, including “Speechless.” The song was inspired by the moment both men saw their wives walking down the aisle, and the music video featured clips from their weddings.
“The first thing my wife and I did on our anniversary was watch that video, and we were both left speechless. We ended up watching our full wedding video later that same day,” Dan told *People* magazine in 2018.
Shay and Hannah have been together since 2015
Shay told PEOPLE that it was love at first sight when he met Hannah (née Billingsley), a former Miss Arkansas and current host of the podcast *Unexpected with Hannah Love*.
The pair had been exchanging text messages for a few years, but in March 2015, Hannah asked Shay directly if his band would ever be coming to Arkansas. As it turned out, Dan + Shay had a performance scheduled in her hometown of Fayetteville just four days later; that is how they officially met at George’s Majestic Lounge on March 11, as reported by *Arkansas Bride*.
“Shay is everything I never knew I needed,” Hannah told the publication. “I really never imagined myself with a guy in the music industry, so it took me a while to wrap my head around it.”
After dating for approximately 1.5 years, Shay and Hannah got engaged in Arkansas on August 9, 2016. That very same night, the couple held a secret wedding, which came as a complete surprise to Hannah. Shay proposed while his hit song “From the Ground Up” was playing on the radio; immediately afterwards, they drove to a stone chapel where he had gathered their family and friends to celebrate the impromptu event. They kept the news of this small ceremony private for several years.
“From the first time I saw her, I knew I wanted to marry her,” Mooney confesses to PEOPLE, adding, “She is the best thing that has ever happened to me, so I had to lock it down. She’s my better half… and way better looking than I am, too.”
Shortly afterwards, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child together. Their son, Asher James, was born on January 24, 2017.
The couple held a larger wedding ceremony at the Mooney family estate in Arkansas on October 20, 2017. Asher, who was 9 months old at the time, participated in the ceremony wearing a baby tuxedo while Richard G. carried him down the aisle. For their part, both Justin and Dan served as guitarists during the service. After the wedding, the couple loved their honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico.
Shay and Hannah share four sons.
Hannah and Shay have a beautiful brood of children.
The couple became parents for the first time when they welcomed their son, Asher James, on January 24, 2017. His siblings followed Asher: Ames Alexander—born on February 21, 2020—the family’s youngest—born on January 1, 2023—and Aubrey Ellis.
Abby and Hannah kept Dan + Shay from splitting up.
Dan + Shay were on the verge of breaking up in 2021, going four months without speaking to each other after wrapping up their arena tour that same year. Since then, they have reconciled, and we have their wives to thank for helping the musical duo stay afloat.
“I think Abby gave me a wonderful perspective and inspired me to enjoy the journey a little more,” Dan tells PEOPLE magazine.
Shay, who recently achieved sobriety, expressed a similar sentiment regarding his wife: “My wife is an absolute angel. She has been my lifeline throughout this entire process. It is not easy at all to stand on the sidelines and watch the person you love destroy themselves with what they eat and drink in excess.”
The country music duo, who have been working together for 12 years, rebuilt their relationship from the ground up. Shay confessed to PEOPLE that he and Dan have “redefined what we understand by success,” which has involved focusing on the most important people in their lives—each other and their respective families—a sentiment that Dan fully shares.
“Our family relationships are in an excellent place thanks to the work we’ve done on a personal and individual level; I think all of that ultimately has a positive ripple effect on every other aspect of our lives,” Dan stated.
They are red carpet regulars.
Dan + Shay fans often get just as excited to see Abby and Hannah on the red carpet as the singer-songwriters themselves.
The two couples frequently pose together at high-profile events, including the 57th Annual CMA Awards in November 2023, the CMT Music Awards in June 2019, and the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2019, among many others.
Although the cameras didn’t catch the sweet moment, at the 2023 CMA Awards, Abby and Hannah were spotted in the audience, waving their arms and singing along to every word of Dan + Shay’s song, “Save Me the Trouble.”
Their first “double date” on the red carpet took place in 2016, during the 51st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.
While the Smyers and the Mooneys enjoy attending Hollywood’s biggest occasions, what they value most is the time they spend at home.
“Our favourite thing to do during the holiday season is simply be at home with our families,” Dan told PEOPLE magazine in 2022. “Our schedules are very tight; we’re touring non-stop practically all year round, so the holiday season represents a time to slow down and cultivate kindness.”
