Jana Kramer isn’t a regular stepmom, she’s a cool stepmom.
Kramer, 41, opened up about her first time meeting husband Allan Russell’s teenage son from a previous relationship, Troy, during the Wednesday, June 18, episode of iHeartRadio’s “Whine Down” podcast. She and Russell, 44, agreed that it was “easier” for him to meet her kids than it was for her to meet Troy.
“He’s a teenager and he’s got his own views, his own opinions, and he’s got his own mom who has been around for 15 [years.] So it was more difficult for you. Well, I would assume it was more difficult for you,” Russell told his wife.
“Here’s the problem. I came from a divorced background, right? And so, when my dad started [dating], it’s like, ‘I’m not looking for another mom,’” Kramer responded. “And again, my kids have their dad too, but again, you see them more than their dad. So you have such a big responsibility, and also love, and all of it to be this father figure in their life, too.”
Kramer shares daughter Jolie, 9, and son Jace, 6, with ex Mike Caussin. She and Russell welcomed their son, Roman, in November 2023.
The One Tree Hill alum added that, for her, it’s been more difficult with Troy because she “doesn’t get to see him as much as I would like to.”
“And I just always just want to be at least, you know, a friend and someone that was always there. But it is harder, I think, coming in older. But as long as I remain who I want to be for him, again, he’s got an amazing mom. He’s got you,” Kramer told Russell. “I just am here as a friend and support.”
Russell reassured Kramer that she was “doing it well,” telling her that he thought Troy knew he could “have a laugh” with her and tell her things that he wouldn’t tell his dad.
“That’s because I’m the cool friend,” she joked. “I’m the cool stepmom. But like, in that I always think of like, yes, I am a stepmom, but I look at it as not the mom, but as a friend because he’s got a great mom.”
Seven months after welcoming Roman, Kramer tied the knot with Russell in Scotland in July 2024. However, the couple revealed on “Whine Down” in March that they had secretly gotten married in January 2024 before making it “formal to people” over the summer.
“We were desperate to marry each other,” they explained. “So what we did was, after we had a Roman, we still had that feeling, like, ‘This is so weird that we’re not married, you know, officially, and we have a son together.’ And so we went to the courthouse in January.”
“Our wedding date is July 13. We just made it official a little earlier,” Kramer said. “But there was something so beautiful and just, private and precious about us holding that together and it just being like, just us having that together without the whole world.”
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