Luke Combs Opens Up About His Battle with Rare OCD in Interview

SYDNEY, Australia — Country music star Luke Combs shared his personal battle with a rare form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), known as Pure O, during an interview on ’60 Minutes Australia.’ The 35-year-old singer revealed that he has struggled with this condition since he was 12 years old, but recently faced his ‘worst flare-up’ while on tour.

In his candid remarks, Combs described Pure O as an ‘all-consuming’ experience. ‘It’s thoughts, essentially, that you don’t want to have… and then they cause you stress,’ he told reporter Adam Hegarty. ‘When it hits, man, it can be all-consuming,’ he added, explaining that a severe flare-up can last for ’45 seconds of every minute for weeks.’

Combs, who is best known for his hit song ‘Forever After All,’ characterized his intrusive thoughts as ‘particularly wicked,’ noting that some can be violent in nature. He emphasized how the condition can spiral as stress begets more intrusive thoughts, creating a relentless cycle.

‘I feel lucky to be an expert in Pure O,’ Combs said, indicating that after over two decades living with the disorder, he has developed strategies to cope. ‘The way to get out of it is to accept that the thoughts are happening… the less that you worry about why you’re having the thoughts, eventually they go away,’ he explained.

Pure O is not officially classified in the American Psychiatric Association’s ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,’ but the term is used by professionals to differentiate it from traditional OCD, which usually involves physical compulsions alongside mental ones.

In addition to coping with Pure O, Combs also deals with anxiety. His openness about these mental health struggles aims to help others who face similar challenges. ‘I definitely want to spend some time at some point in my life doing some outreach to kids that deal with this,’ he said. ‘It’s possible to continue to live your life and be really successful and have a great family while also dealing with things that you don’t want to be dealing with.’

Combs continues to balance his mental health journey with his music career and family life, sharing two young sons with his wife, Nicole Combs.