Thomas Rhett's wife, Lauren Akins, says marriage counseling was essential for helping the couple through struggles that surfaced as the singer began to enjoy new success. In fact, the 30-year-old is a big proponent of ongoing help from a third party.

Talking to People, Akins remembers 2013 as the year Rhett's career truly started to demand the couple's full attention. This meant the then 23-year-old had to put her dream of becoming a nurse on hold. Starting a family only heightened the stress, to the point that they both recognized they needed to work on themselves, together.

"It's something that we still say is crucial to a marriage, some form of counseling or third party," Akins tells the magazine during an interview that also includes an excerpt from her new memoir, Live In Love. "It's just a place where you can learn more about yourself and learn more about your spouse and really learn how to communicate better and clearer. It's been so, so good. We just really love it."

The book promises to share some of the more real and difficult moments they've gone through since marrying in October of 2012. Akins is honest about the pressure of portraying a perfect life and found peace in revealing that they, too, struggle, just like every other person and couple. They're not #RelationshipGoals all the time.

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"I think it will be healthy for people to read," Akins says. "I hope it encourages people to be honest and real about what they feel and hopefully help them to see people in a different light. Kindness and loving people well are the only ways we're going to get through some of the darkness we've encountered this year."

Live In Love: Growing Together Through Life's Changes was released on Aug. 18 via Ballantine Books. The excerpt in People is revealing in that fans learn that her influence on Rhett's music is not just as his muse. She actively encourages him to write and record family-friendly songs, knowing their three daughters (Willa Gray, Ada James and Lennon Love) will be listening.

"There's a lot of pressure in the music business to keep things 'edgy' and 'cool,' but honestly, the fact that he's choosing a more family-centered approach to songwriting these days doesn't seem to be hurting his career," Akins writes.

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