Dan + Shay Say Their Wives Were a 'Lifeline' amid Their Rift: 'We've Got Great Families' (Exclusive)

There is no Dan + Shay without Abby Smyers and Hannah Mooney. 

The two women, who are married to Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, respectively, have served as the inspiration for many of the country duo’s smash hits, but they’re also a big reason why their husbands didn’t quit their musical careers after hitting a rough patch two years ago. 

“We've got great families. We are so lucky. There are so many people who would kill to be in our shoes, and that's something we don't want to take for granted,” says Dan Smyers, 36, who nearly decided to quit the business after dealing with extreme burn out. “I think Abby has given me such a great perspective and inspired me to enjoy the ride a little bit more.”

Mooney, 31, shares a similar sentiment regarding his wife, Hannah, who was instrumental in helping him manage his newfound sobriety. 

“She is an absolute angel, my wife, She was my lifeline through all of this,” he says. “It's not an easy thing to kind of sit back and watch the person that you love destroy themselves with what they eat and with drinking too much.”

Rather than demand her husband change his lifestyle, Hannah, 32, couldn’t have been more supportive, Mooney says. 

“She was so patient with me, knowing that she couldn't be like, ‘Shay, you got to stop drinking so much.’ Because I would've been like, ‘Oh, yeah. Well, I'm going to drink more.’ She knew it was this thing where I had to get to that place on my own.” 

Mooney, who shares sons Asher, 6, Ames, 3, and Abram, 8 months, with Hannah, originally decided to give up alcohol and cut sugar from his diet after facing anxiety attacks and being “too tired to play with my kids.” 

Now, Mooney says that, together, he and Smyers have “redefined what we think success is,” as they focus more on the people in their life who really matter. 

“I want to take stock in my best friend Dan," Mooney says. "I want to make sure that I'm taking the time to actually hang out with him and know that he's valued in my life and I want to do the same for his wife, Abby, and my wife and my kids.” 

Adds Smyers: “Our relationships at home are in such a great place because of the work we've done personally, individually, and I think it all trickles down.”

After Smyers fell out of love with music, he, too leaned on his wife Abby, 35, with whom he shares four dogs: Joy, Ghost, Chief and Macaroni. 

“She continues to save my life every day, honestly. I can't say enough good things. She just has such a different outlook on life than I do," he says. "I feel like I'm a natural pessimist. I'll see a spot in the grass that's not looking good. She'll be like, 'But look at all the green grass.' She sees just the hope and positivity and happiness and optimism and everything."

Smyers also credits his wife for being able to help him take a step back and relax when he gets overwhelmed.

“If I start complaining or spiraling, she'll be like, ‘All right, let's pause for a sec. Take a deep breath. Let's discuss the situation.’ She'll help me find the good in things because she does see the good in everyone," he explains. "She's helped me through dark times when I was sad. Who knows? I may have quit music or moved back to my hometown, but she'll just talk me off the ledge and calm me down.”

In fact, it was Abby who inspired the title for the band’s fifth album Bigger Houses, out Sept. 15.

“That was her phrase," says Smyers. "Everybody's always looking on Zillow and Abby was like, ‘Man, we're always talking about bigger houses when we've got it really good right now. We don't need bigger houses. We've got everything we need, people that we love."

Abby's words are now immortalized in the title track off the album, as Dan + Shay harmonize the line:

"The thing about happiness I've found is it don't live in bigger houses."

For more on Dan + Shay, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.