Luke Combs Sheds Light on His Struggle with Pure O: An Honest Conversation

Country music sensation Luke Combs recently opened up about his enduring battle with a rare form of OCD in an interview with “60 Minutes Australia.” Combs, whose journey with purely obsessional obsessive-compulsive disorder—commonly referred to as Pure O—began at 12, revealed that his condition flared up recently during his latest tour, marking one of his most challenging episodes in years.

“Essentially, it involves unwanted thoughts that lead to stress. Then, as you’re stressed, the thoughts multiply,” he explained, describing the “draining” and “paralyzing” nature of the disorder. Now 35, Combs considers himself “fortunate” to have become an “expert” in managing Pure O after over 20 years of living with it. “When it strikes, it can be overwhelming,” he shared with reporter Adam Hegarty, noting that during severe flare-ups, he grapples with intrusive thoughts as frequently as “45 seconds of every minute for weeks.”

Father to sons Tex, aged 2, and Beau, aged 1, whom he shares with his wife Nicole Combs, the “Forever After All” singer calls the condition “particularly tough” due to the sometimes violent nature of his intrusive thoughts. “The trick to overcoming it,” he revealed, “is realizing that the content of these thoughts is irrelevant. Acknowledging their existence without investing in them is key. It’s about accepting that they occur and choosing not to dwell on their significance,” he added. “It’s a bizarre ordeal, frustrating and maddening. Yet, the more you learn to ignore the reasons behind the thoughts, the more likely they are to fade away.”

Pure O, though not officially recognized in the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” is distinguished from traditional OCD by the absence of physical compulsions, focusing instead on mental fixations. Alongside managing anxiety, Combs aims to raise awareness of this lesser-known affliction. “I hope to one day engage in outreach for kids dealing with this,” he said, “because it has held me back so many times in my life.”