- calendar_today August 26, 2025
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Carly Pearce recently admitted that the “worst experience” of her life so far happened after she and country music singer Michael Ray tied the knot in 2019. After a whirlwind romance, the married couple called it quits only eight months later and officially divorced in 2020. In a recent podcast interview, Pearce reflected on her divorce and said she knew the marriage was a mistake the “night she got married.”
Pearce shared the behind-the-scenes details of her marriage to Ray during an episode of Bunnie XO’s podcast, Dumb Blonde. She said that during the relationship, she knew that she was in lust with Ray, but it was not love. “When I met Michael, it was definitely not love. It was so passionate,” she said. “When I got married, it was for the right reasons. I thought he was so cute. I heard he’s the nicest guy in the world. I invited him to my No. 1 party for Every Little Thing,” the singer shared.
“So it was very whirlwind, but looking back on it, I feel like we were so not in love. It was a hot and heavy lust. It wasn’t love. It was just passionate. But I did not get married just to have a wedding,” she added.
Pearce further said that she believed that both of them made a mistake by not taking time to know each other before jumping into a marriage. “We definitely both made the mistake of not being like, ‘Hey, let’s talk a little bit and let’s date. Let’s see what it is like to be single together and how we work.’ I think we were both guilty of not laying that foundation before we got married,” Pearce said.
However, she also pointed out that the relationship felt like a lie and said that they were not being real with each other. “It was like we were kind of living this life that was almost not real,” she continued. “We didn’t have real conversations, and we really didn’t know about each other. It’s kind of hard for me to give advice, because I feel like I made the mistake. It’s so hard to know in the moment. I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have,” she confessed.
In a recent interview with Fox News, the Kentucky native also spoke about her divorce and how the pandemic was a blessing in disguise because it allowed her to work through her divorce in private, and she could not be more grateful for that. She said, “It was tough in so many ways. But when it comes down to it, I think the best thing that ever happened to me was COVID because it allowed me to deal with that in private. I probably would have stayed in it longer if I could have avoided it and not had to. I was embarrassed when it happened. I felt embarrassed. I was with somebody that everybody thought I was supposed to be with. I had shame around that and was heartbroken.”
Divorce, Rumors, and “Living Above”
Pearce filed for divorce in 2020, only a few months after the marriage. As for the reason behind her divorce, the singer has not given any details, but she has said that it “wasn’t the marriage that she knew she deserved.” “It was not a marriage that I knew I deserved. I knew that very quickly. Plenty happened to where it was very clear to me this was not, this just wasn’t a marriage. I’m going to keep this private just because it’s not fair to him either. But it was not what I signed up for,” she admitted.
Pearce was also asked during the podcast about reports of cheating allegations from Michael. During the interview, Pearce and Bunnie briefly discussed a cheating rumor that was circulating about Ray. “You hear so much stuff,” Bunnie said, as Pearce noted that what had made the split even more difficult was “all the stuff people had to say.” Bunnie said to Pearce, “Did you hear that after you guys split? And if so, how do you feel about it now?”
As for the rumors of cheating allegations, she noted: “People have all their opinions, and, at first, that was so hard for me because I was like, ‘That’s not true, that’s not true, that’s not true. What he’s saying isn’t true.’ But at the end of the day, my friends who walked that with me know. My parents know, and God knows, and that is enough. It’s enough.” Pearce also said that the failed marriage has allowed her to value herself more.
“I feel like the strongest that I have been. I am in the happiest season of my life,” Pearce continued. “If I ever saw him, if he ever watches this, thank you, because you taught me more about myself. You taught me how strong I am. You put me through things that have made me better now. And I don’t wish him evil. I don’t wish anything on him. I’m so glad that I’m not in that anymore.”
She had further noted: “I think I was really shown just how much I care about myself. I actually really have a lot of self-worth, and that showed me that. I feel like now my life’s just more of, ‘Thank you for this experience. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for doing what you needed to do.’ It was just a mistake.”
