Sheryl Crow Adopted Two Sons and Has Raised Them as a Single Parent

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sheryl Crow's life isn't all just about music and acting. Outside of the world of entertainment, Sheryl has her own family life, including two sons which she cherishes deeply.

Sheryl famously dated stars like Eric Clapton, Owen Wilson, and Lance Armstrong. While Lance and Sheryl were engaged for a few years, they called off the high-profile relationship. Crow later revealed that there were two other times she had been engaged. Sheryl has never been married and adopted her sons independently.

Sheryl adopted her first son in 2007 when he was only a month old. She adopted her second son in 2010 when he was 1 year old. She raises Wyatt and Levi at her Nashville home.

The star explained her approach to motherhood with candor. "I have a three-night rule, where I’m not going to leave longer than three nights unless I take them," she told PEOPLE.

According to Sheryl, motherhood is a priority for her. She found strength from those around her as she decided to pursue her solo motherhood. "You have a family around you who will stand at the altar with you at baptism and say, 'We are his community or her community,'" she recalled her mom telling her during an interview with Hoda Kotb.

"The story I was telling myself limited what I thought I could have until somebody stepped in and said 'Families look like all different things,'" she added.

Sheryl keeps her kids' lives relatively private, but hasn't been afraid to gush over the guys, either. According to Sheryl, Wyatt is following in his mother's footsteps and trying out music. However, that isn't necessarily what he plans to focus on in the future. "He's got a great ear and can play [bass] really well — he's learning James Jamerson just like I did," Sheryl told PEOPLE. "He wants to be a marine biologist ... So I'm happy for him to go save the reefs. That's what he wants to do."

Adopting Levi was a different experience for Sheryl. After all, introducing a new kid to the mix when you already have a growing family can be difficult. She waited until Wyatt was 3 years old before adopting Levi.

She's previously gushed about their little family, explaining that Wyatt tried to be hands-on in the process, assisting his mother with taking care of Levi's bottles.

"Watching my kids grow into the people that they’re turning into is the greatest joy I have ever experienced," she told PEOPLE. Sheryl has often drawn inspiration from her boys and incorporated that in her work, even showing them off in a music video.

While Sheryl usually keeps her sons out of the limelight, her 2022 "Forever" music video included some touching moments of her kids. "What a blessing to get to experience the world through my children's eyes," she wrote on Instagram. "Every moment reminds me that life goes fast and being in the moment is so important, so I wrote a song about it called 'Forever.'"