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One of the darkest moments in Carly Pearce’s life occurred when the Kentucky native tied the knot with country singer Michael Ray. She took to Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast and opened up on her marital issues that led her to divorce Ray just eight months after they exchanged vows.

Pearce admitted that she had been aware that her marriage to Ray was a mistake since the night of her wedding. In the interview, the Grammy-winning singer detailed how the relationship that brought them together was based on lust, not love. As such, the two would go their separate ways after a short-lived marriage.

Carly Pearce Reveals Details about Her Marriage and Divorce to Michael Ray

In the podcast interview, Carly Pearce, who is a Kentucky native best known for songs like Every Little Thing and Should’ve Known Better revealed that she got married to Michael Ray in 2019. She added that at that time she thought her decision was the right one. “I thought he was so cute,” Pearce told Bunnie XO while sharing details of their short-lived marriage. “I’d heard he’s the nicest guy in the world. I invited him to my No. 1 party for Every Little Thing. Looking back on it, it was a hot and heavy lust. It wasn’t love. It was just passionate.”

Pearce admitted that the relationship she had with Ray “was not a marriage that I was going to go and file for divorce.” The hit singer would explain that when she tied the knot with Ray, it was not a decision she took “lightly.” “I got married to go the distance. When I married him, it was for the right reasons,” Pearce added.

Pearce, however, disclosed that she knew that her marriage to Michael Ray was not the best for her, but they both also didn’t do enough for it to work. “It just wasn’t the 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,” she told Bunnie.

Pearce continued by admitting that she did not doubt in her heart on the night of the wedding. “I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have,” Pearce continued. She added that she was grateful that COVID-19, which many people saw as a curse, was a blessing for her. This is because she could reflect and deal with the “mess” of her marriage privately. “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 … and I had shame around that and was heartbroken.”

Divorce, Rumors, and a Journey to Self-Worth

In 2020, Pearce and Michael Ray had to call it quits, only eight months after they were married. Since then, she has remained tight-lipped about what led to the split between them. During her interview with Bunnie on the Dumb Blonde podcast, the singer revealed that she had learned a lot about herself from her short-lived marriage to Ray.

Pearce had also addressed the rumor that Ray cheated on her during their marriage. While she didn’t answer the allegations, she said it wasn’t easy to listen to people who didn’t know the full story of their relationship. “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, they know. My parents know, and God knows, and that is enough. It’s enough.”

She, however, said that the relationship and subsequent divorce had left her with a sense of confidence in who she is. She said that for a moment, she lost that sense of self. “I am in the happiest season of my life,” she shared. “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.”

Pearce said the experience had shown her how she had actually been raised in ways that prevented her from fully caring about her needs and wants. “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,” she said.

Pearce announced that she and Michael Ray had parted ways for the second time, a few months after their marriage and divorce, after Ray was spotted with a mystery woman on July 5.