Kimberly Williams-Paisley: Husband Brad’s ‘Hilarious’ Gift Helped Her Talk to Teen Sons After She Lost Her Voice (Exclusive)

Brad Paisley tried to be supportive when his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley lost her voice, but the country singer admits he wasn’t always helpful.

“I was stomping around so much,” she says of the two-year period when the actress couldn’t speak above a whisper.

When Kimberly first spoke out at an Alzheimer’s Association event she hosted in November 2022, Brad thought: “Man, she overdid it.” Since I only had my own experience, I remember thinking: ‘Wait a few days and he’ll be back.’ ”

He tried to give her advice. “I remember saying, ‘Let me hear you design.’ ‘Learn power through it.’ I thought maybe she just needed to clear her throat,” he says. – It was so stupid and naive.

Kimberly Williams-Paisley was awake during 3-hour surgery to help her talk: ‘It was bizarre’ (Exclusive)

Months later, Father of the bride the actress could still only whisper. She was eventually diagnosed with a partially paralyzed vocal cord and underwent surgery to correct it, but in the meantime, Kimberly struggled to be heard in public — and in her own home.

Kimberly Williams-Paisley and husband Brad Paisley.

Brian Doben; Kimberly Williams-Paisley/Instagram

“It was really hard because she’d be upstairs yelling, ‘Hey, guys, come down, dinner’s ready,'” and they could never hear her, Brad says of the couple’s sons, Huck, 17, and Jasper, 15.

So the singer gave his wife a unique Christmas present: a bright pink megaphone with which she could call her boyfriends. “It was one of the nicest things Brad did for me — it was really hilarious and so necessary,” says Kimberly. “I started using it right away. It makes me laugh so good.”

Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley.

Kimberly Williams-Paisley/Instagram

This was not always easy to do during her ordeal. She remembers the night after her sons performed in a play when she wanted to celebrate with the other children and parents, but because it was difficult for her to hold a conversation, she volunteered to clean up instead. “I swept the floors,” she says. – I’m used to just closing up.

When the children and other families were at the after party, she went to her car and called her sister, actress Ashley Williams. “I remember just sitting in the car, sobbing, like, ‘This is so embarrassing. I want to be involved, but I just don’t know how.’ She cried with me, she, Brad and the boys were my rock.”

Like Brad, her boys tried to find ways to help. “It was so tiring talking on the phone, so my kids or Brad would do the talking for me,” she says. “My kids have been great cheerleaders for me. At an event, they knew if someone I wanted to talk to was leaving and I couldn’t get them, they would get them for me. They’re used to helping me out, which is really sweet.”

Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Brad Paisley and sons Huck and Jasper in November 2024.

PHOTO BY MANDY JOHNSON

Because her voice was so quiet, it was often hard to tell how she was really feeling, Brad says. “You didn’t know her tone. It was creepy,” he says. “There were times when we would say, ‘Are you okay with us?’ And she’s like [whispering]’That.’ And we’d say, “That didn’t sound sincere.’ And she would say, ‘I have no other sound.’ ”

Kimberly adds, “Everyone around me was worried that it was somehow their fault. ‘Did we do something? Is there something she’s not telling us?’ ”

Kimberly Williams-Paisley shares her story in the new issue of PEOPLE.

Brian Doben

Kimberly Williams-Paisley opens up about ‘terrifying’ 2 years she couldn’t speak: ‘I felt trapped in my own body’ (Exclusive)

It was “heartbreaking” to watch her struggle, Brad says. “This is someone who lives to talk to people. And she wouldn’t want that.” However, “seeing her struggle to figure it out was amazing. There was never a moment where she just gave up. It was inspiring.”

Kimberly, whose voice is now back after surgery in August, says the experience made her grateful for the love that surrounded her.

“I’m so thankful that Brad and the boys have been there for me through this,” she says. “They saw me at my most vulnerable and weakest moments. They made me feel less alone.”

For more on Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s PEOPLE cover, pick up the new issue on newsstands Friday.

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Source: HIS Education