We introduced a flexible class of continuous distributions called the generalized Kavya-Manoharan-G (GKM-G) family. The GKM-G family extended the Kavya-Manoharan class and provided greater flexibility to the baseline models. The special sub-models of the GKM-G family are capable of modeling monotone and non-monotone failure rates including increasing, reversed J shape, decreasing, bathtub, modified bathtub, and upside-down bathtub. Some properties of the family were studied. The GKM-exponential (GKME) distribution was studied in detail. Eight methods of estimation were used for estimating the GKME parameters. The performance of the estimators was assessed by simulation studies under small and large samples. Furthermore, the flexibility of the two-parameter GKME distribution was explored by analyzing five real-life data applications from applied fields such as medicine, environment, and reliability. The data analysis showed that the GKME distribution outperforms other competing exponential models.