Parker McCollum Talks Marriage to 'One in a Million' Wife: 'It's Hard Not to Write Songs About Her' (Exclusive)

Parker McCollum's first year of marriage has taught him the way to his wife's heart.

The "Handle on You" singer, 30, and his love Hallie Ray Light celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary in March, and with the release of McCollum's latest album Never Enough and his busy schedule, he's all about trying to prioritize quality time.

"I've noticed that the best thing I can do for her is just give her my time when it's available," McCollum shares exclusively with PEOPLE. "You can buy women whatever they want and take them wherever they want to go, but I feel like one thing I've learned is that quality time is really what she appreciates the most. And that's the one thing that I don't have a surplus of, so we make the most of it when we do."

In the last year alone, Parker has seen "Handle on You" hit No. 1 on country radio — his third song to do so after "Pretty Heart" and "To Be Loved By You."

One of the major through lines in his music is love — both when it works out, and when it doesn't.

"It's hard not to write songs about her or think about her when I'm writing songs, [but] I really like heartbreak love songs about everything going terribly wrong," McCollum says with a laugh. "So usually she'll inspire something, and I'll change it to make it sad and dark, which she's not always a fan of."

In all seriousness, McCollum says Hallie's influence is hard to ignore.

"With someone like that, it's impossible to not end up writing a little something about them," he says.

Ironically, the one time McCollum isn't thinking about his wife is when he's actually singing the songs she's inspired.

"I don't think about her on stage. Most of the time I'm just trying to be into the show!" he says. "It's just been such a crazy year, and she's done such a good job at just balancing a life where it's all about me all the time, and I do my best to try to make it about her as much as I can. She's such a terrific one-in-a-million person."

The couple officially tied the knot in Tomball, Texas, in March of 2022 after getting engaged the prior summer, and McCollum shares that his dream cover song actually has a connection to their special day.

"'One More Day' by Diamond Rio. I've always loved that song. That was my wife and I's first dance song at our wedding, so I think that'd be cool to cut that. And I'm always singing it," he says.

Following their engagement in 2021, the "Pretty Heart" musician spoke to PEOPLE about the big moment.

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"I couldn't wait to ask her to marry me," McCollum recalled of proposing to Light. "There was no backup plan and no hesitation. I didn't overthink one thing. I was like, 'It can't get any better than her.' There was no doubt in my mind that I was making the right decision. She saved my life in a way. I don't think I was headed down the right road."