Country music star Luke Bryan has recently shed light on the enigmatic circumstances surrounding the untimely passing of his sister, Kelly Bryan, who died suddenly in 2007 at the age of 39.

In a candid conversation with Anderson Cooper on Cooper’s CNN podcast, “All There Is,” the 49-year-old musician discussed the details of his sister’s death.

“I’ve never really shared the specifics of what happened to my sister,” Luke admitted. “There’s a lot of misinformation circulating online, and some people think we’ve been trying to keep it hidden.”

Luke explained that Kelly’s cause of death is rare, stating, “A very small percentage of people die without any clear reason, and it’s referred to as Sudden Death Syndrome. That’s how they classified my sister’s passing. She was at home doing laundry, and it was like someone just switched her off. It was indescribably tragic.”

When asked about the time it took to understand his sister’s diagnosis, Luke responded, “Naturally, we wanted answers because there were just so many unresolved questions.”

Asked about how long it took to get his sister’s diagnosis, the singer replied, ‘Obviously, we wanted to know what had happened because there was so much, there was just so much unanswered questions.

‘And we wanted to know, could there be a family history of something that her children might have or may have?’

Luke Bryan has opened up about the mysterious details surrounding his sister Kelly Bryan’s sudden death in 2007

‘I’ve never really explained what happened to my sister,’ Luke acknowledged. ‘There’s some misinformation out there on the internet, and I think some people kind of wonder what happened and they think that we’ve tried to cover it up’; pictured with wife Caroline and his sister Kelly (R) on his wedding day in 2006

Luke said that usual outcomes of an autopsy for someone in their late 30s – like Kelly was when she died – would point to an aneurysm, embolism, or blood clot.

However, his older sibling’s results came back ‘inconclusive.’

‘She had a pretty severe, like, orbital bone injury,’ he mentioned. ‘So whether she fainted or not, I think she may have went into the floor and kind of knocked herself out. My nephew was three at the time.’

And the grieving brother said if ‘someone could have been there, maybe her chances of surviving’ would have ‘been a lot better.’

Remembering Kelly during the podcast episode, he shared, ‘She really was everything in our lives.

‘She was a mother of three children and she was, I mean, the best mother you could ever dream of. And we all leaned on her for so many things and it’s hard to really wrap your brain around her being gone.’

Kelly’s shock death left Luke ‘nauseous’ as he realized he would have to face the reality of her being gone.

He recalled, ‘I mean, the nausea. I did not want to go in the funeral home and see my sister. I was just really… not not processing this well. And the fact that I knew at 5:00pm I was going to walk in that funeral home and have to deal with this — it was just… I just wasn’t doing well with it.’

When he ultimately showed up to say his final goodbye, Luke said it was the ‘first time’ in his life that he felt a ‘spirit of another world take away my burden.’

He described, ‘When I saw her, it was like something, it was almost like a pressure valve released… It was truly like she let — she set me free in that room. My mother did not have that experience and I think I was the only one in the family that had that experience.’

The 49-year-old country music artist sat down with Anderson Cooper for the latest episode of his CNN podcast series All There Is

Luke pictured right with his late siblings, brother Chris and sister Kelly

After both his sister and brother-in-law died Luke took in their son Til (right) who is pictured with the country star and his sons Thomas and Tatum

Before Kelly died, the family also endured the loss of Luke’s brother Chris, who was killed in a 1996 car crash. 

And seven years after her death, Kelly’s husband Ben Lee Cheshire also died, prompting the couple’s young son Til to move in with the American Idol judge and his wife Caroline. 

Luke went on to adopt the pair’s three children: Jordan, Kris and Tilde. 

He and his wife are also mom and dad to Thomas ‘B’, 17, and Tatum ‘Tate’, 15.

In a 2021 interview with People, Luke said he will ‘truly never get over’ the grief of losing his two siblings and a brother-in-law.

Luke was just 19 and planning his relocation to Nashville to pursue a country music career when he lost his older brother Chris, who was 26.

He told the magazine several years ago, ‘Maybe Chris and Kelly and Lee have moved some puzzle pieces around to make my life so fortunate. When I say my prayers at night, I have to say: ‘Thank y’all for looking after us down here.”