Luke Bryan's Wife Caroline Supports His Onstage Hip-Shaking: She's Never 'Put Handcuffs on How I Perform' (Exclusive)

One of Luke Bryan’s signature songs may be about a country girl shaking it, but for much of his career, he’s been the one doing the shaking — and that’s totally fine with his wife.

Bryan, 47, opens up in this week’s PEOPLE cover story about wife Caroline’s support when it comes to his onstage hip-shaking, explaining that she’s cool with him performing however he sees fit.

“If she would’ve shut down the hip-shaking, it would’ve been a little problematic,” he jokes. “But she’s always had a fun outlook. She gets that people come see me to party and let loose. She’s never gotten in the way of that or put handcuffs on how I perform.”

The “But I Got a Beer in My Hand” singer first met Caroline while attending Georgia Southern University, and the two married in 2006. They share sons Tate, 13, and Bo, 15, and also support their nieces Jordan, 28, and Kris, 25, and nephew Tilden, 21, after the unexpected deaths of Bryan’s sister Kelly and brother-in-law Lee.

In the early days of their relationship, when Bryan was making $15,000 a year in pursuit of stardom, Caroline helped pay the bills with her job as a pharmaceutical sales rep.

“When we started having children, she was at home with the kids. I was doing 300, 320 days a year building my career. It’s always a challenge,” he says. “There are so many sacrifices that have to happen and the end game is everybody has to have each other’s backs and look out for the best interest of the family, the marriage and the career, and make sure you communicate as much as you can.”

Now, the American Idol judge says, they’re a “pretty happy family,” and enjoy spending as much time as they can at their Nashville-area home.

“Our house is full of a lot of energy and a lot of people coming in and out and friends and family. My wife’s brother and his two young children are in the pool every day, learning to swim,” he says. “My wife and I are always looking out the window going, ‘Whose vehicle is that driving through the farm’?”

Of course, Bryan is often pulled away from home due to work commitments, and this summer, he has plenty. On top of his Country On tour, which began in June, the singer-songwriter is also preparing for six dates of his annual Farm Tour in September, a final set of shows for his Las Vegas residency and his annual Crash My Playa festival in Cancún in January.

“I love to make people smile,” he says. “That’s why I fell in love with music.”

For more on Luke Bryan, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.