‘The Voice’ star Tom Nitti thanks fans after leaving the show over custody battle

The singer left Team Reba after learning that his ex-wife was demanding custody of his two children.

Tom Nitti may have left The voicebut the last of him is not yet here.

The singer posted his heartfelt gratitude after leaving the competition show to fight a custody battle for his two children. “Thank you all for your support. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it,” he wrote. “I’ve been part of my dream journey and I’ve loved every minute of it. I’m also pretty sure I’m where I need to be now. I will never give up on this dream and my two children know that. I’m sure they are as proud of me as I am of them.”

Nitti concluded his post with a lyric from Cody Johnson’s “‘Til You Can’t,” the song he sang during the show’s Battles round. “If you wanna love somebody, hold them as long and as tight and as close as you can until you can’t anymore.”

Nitti was chosen to join Reba McEntire’s team after his enthusiastic performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” during the Blinds round. He later sang the aforementioned “‘Til You Can’t” (along with Dylan Carter) during the Battles and “(I Know) I’m Losing You” by the Temptations during the Knockouts.

Nitti originally qualified to participate in The voicebut he ultimately postponed this for a year because he didn’t have enough time to request leave from his position as a New York State Trooper. He filed for divorce five months before the start of season 24 and admitted he wasn’t in the best of spirits when McEntire rescued him during the Knockouts. “I had just received an email from my lawyers urging me to come home because my ex-wife was seeking custody,” he revealed in an interview with the Utica Observer Shipping.

“I didn’t make this decision because I missed my children,” Nitti said, “but because I couldn’t imagine losing them.”

“I’m happy with my decision, but should it have come to this?” Nitti asked himself. “Absolutely not.”

McEntire told ET that she checked in with Nitti via email. “We’ve been emailing back and forth and expressing our deepest condolences to him for not being able to finish the competition,” she said. “He’s so strong, so good. He’ll be watching and cheering for all of us, but our hearts are with him.”

“I hope that one day my children will understand why I did what I did instead of just thinking that I gave up,” Nitti said.

Sign up for Weekly entertainmentSubscribe to ‘s free daily newsletter with breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars and more.

Related content:

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.