Jimmie Allen recently opened up about the loss of his father, James E. Allen, who passed away in September. The country singer talks about the final moments he spent with his father and how life has been for him since.
"It was weird because I used to think he was invincible," Allen shares on the All Out Favorite People Podcast. "And then this last time when he got sick, it got real."
Allen traveled back to Delaware to see his father one last time, however when he arrived James was already unconscious. The country singer opened up about his decision to leave the hospital and go to his parent's fishing spot instead.
"I felt like that's what I needed," he said. "It gave me a chance to think about all the good times we had, and accept the fact that he was gone. I was in a place where I can remember him, and see him the way I knew him, not laying on a hospital bed with tubes all in his mouth and not responding."
A while back, Allen shared a photo to social media of him as a child with his father. In the caption, he shared more details about his choice to go fishing.
"The thought of the person you love being in heaven is a lot easier to process than them being in the dirt rotting away. What really happens after death?," he questions. "Honestly I don’t know. Saying goodbye to my daddy is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. As you get older you sometimes think about losing your parents but nothing to prepares you for it when it actually happens. When I got the news he died I was fishing at one of our favorite spots in Lewes (Roosevelt Inlet). I decided to do something we both enjoyed doing rather than go to the hospital and see him laying there lifeless."
He continues, "As I reeled my line I thought about all the memories me and dad had fishing there. I’m gonna miss the man that raised me on country music and who I give credit for my career today, the man that taught me the meaning of hard work. I love you dad and I’m thankful for the time we had.
"Wherever you are now I hope I showed you I love you and how much you mean to me. 💔 Miss you Big Jim"
As Allen said in his caption, his father was the person who sparked his love for country music and encouraged him to pursue his musical dreams. After James passed away, Allen reveals that country music became a painful reminder that his dad was gone.
"I couldn't even listen to country music for like two weeks," Allen shares. "I would sing it and struggle and get through. But on the radio, I don't want to hear it, because that reminds me of my dad." He continues on to reveal that the pain was so prevalent that he wasn't able to make it through some songs at his shows. "On a few shows, there was some of his favorite songs we didn't sing, and they were some of the crowd favorites. Every time we played them, I couldn't get through it," he says.
"Then there was one show we did with [Rascal] Flatts. I didn't even finish the last song. I was just like 'Y'all have a good night. I'm out. I'm done.'"
Allen proposed to Alexis Gale in July 2019 while visiting Disney World in Florida. The "Make Me Want To" singer recently shared with The Boot that Gale is in charge of most of the wedding planning, while he's responsible for maintaining his reputation as one of the best dressed at industry events. We'll see how Allen's holding up his end of the deal come November 13 when he hits the red carpet for the 2019 CMA Awards.
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