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During a recent interview, country music singer Carly Pearce revealed that she “knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have” to fellow country singer Michael Ray. The Grammy Award-winning artist says that she and Ray were more in lust than love.

The “Every Little Thing” singer appeared on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast and opened up about her divorce from country music singer Michael Ray. Pearce admits that the relationship that led to their August 2019 wedding was more lust than love, which is one of the reasons why they divorced just eight months later.

Pearce, who was born in Kentucky and is known for her songs, Every Little Thing and Should’ve Known Better, reflected on the whirlwind romance and subsequent wedding during her appearance on the podcast. At the time, she “thought [she] was doing the right thing.” “I thought he was so cute,” the singer added. “I’d heard he’s the nicest guy in the world. I invited him to my No. 1 party for Every Little Thing,” she explained. “Looking back on it, it was a hot and heavy lust. It wasn’t love. It was just passionate.”

Pearce further explains, “I got married to go the distance. When I married him, it was for the right reasons,” she said. However, in retrospect, both parties should have “had real conversations and really been into each other and known about each other. We were kind of living this life that wasn’t really reality.”

“I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have,” the country music singer said. “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.”

Pearce filed for divorce in 2020, just eight months after marrying Michael Ray. She hasn’t divulged any details about what led to their separation, but has confirmed that the relationship quickly became “super clear that it wasn’t what she had hoped for. “It wasn’t what I signed up for,” she said. “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.”

Carly Pearce talked about relationship rumors with Michael Ray

On the Dumb Blonde podcast, Bunnie XO brought up rumors that Michael Ray cheated on Pearce while they were together. Although the singer did not directly confirm the rumors, she said that it was hurtful to hear gossip and be in the position of having to defend herself. “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, who wrote an album after her failed relationship, said that she is in a good place and has finally realized how much self-worth she has. “I am in the happiest season of my life,” she stated. “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.”

The artist admitted that the divorce made her realize that she has more self-love than she previously thought. “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 concluded.

Now that Pearce has moved on from Ray, her career is booming, and her personal life is in order. Although the country singer expressed her embarrassment and shame that she felt after the divorce, she is thankful for what that period has taught her. “I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have,” she said during her interview. “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.”