The My Kind of Crazy star wed his childhood sweetheart Amber Cochran in late June (15) and they headed off on the traditional romantic vacation immediately after tying the knot at their home in Georgia.

However, Gilbert's happiness soon turned to sadness as he received a call in the middle of the night earlier this month (Jul15), alerting him to the loss of his 82-year-old granddad, who had been battling lung conditions chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema for over two decades.

He tells Country Countdown USA, "My wife was sitting beside me and asked, 'Are you OK?' And I said, 'Yeah, I'm gonna walk outside for a minute,' and I did, and didn't know if I was gonna break down, I didn't know what I felt. I was in shock."

Gilbert continues, "He battled for a long time. He was a fighter, fought the whole way out, loved my grandmother every step of the way. She was sitting right there beside him.

"I hope I can love my wife like that and live my life the way he did..."