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In a world that is full of celebrities putting up a strong front, Carly Pearce has shared an unfiltered look at her failed marriage to fellow country singer and songwriter Michael Ray. “When I got married, I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have,” she admitted on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast.

Pearce, a Grammy-nominated singer who has achieved several hits such as Every Little Thing, Should’ve Known Better, Building Up to a Let Down, and I Hope You’re Happy Now, tied the knot with Michael Ray in 2019. However, she said that “it was a hot and heavy lust,” explaining that she got married based on the wrong reasons.

She added that “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.” However, despite that, Pearce said that she got married with the best intentions, saying, “I got married to go the distance. When I married him, it was for the right reasons.” Nevertheless, while regretting the relationship, she added that they “didn’t have real conversations and we didn’t really know about each other. We were kind of living this life that wasn’t really reality.”

Recalling Her Divorce from Michael Ray

Pearce later said that her “heart ached so bad when I got married” to Ray and that “I should have waited for me” before going ahead with the nuptials. The ‘Every Little Thing’ singer also admitted that the whole relationship with the 32-year-old hitmaker was just “lust,” but she also later added that “I’m also glad it happened because it allowed me to know my self-worth.”

The 30-year-old country singer-songwriter also shared how she knew the marriage would not last, even on the day of her wedding, explaining that “I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have. Like, ‘All these people are here, and we don’t know each other,’ kind of thing.” Pearce and Michael Ray divorced in 2020, only a few months after they wed in April. However, the singer-songwriter has said that “COVID was a blessing in disguise for me because it really allowed me to deal with that in private. 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.”

The Divorce and ‘Emotional Abuse’ Rumors: What Was Said

When the ‘What He Wants’ hitmaker went on to file for divorce in 2020, she did not provide much detail as to why she and Michael Ray decided to part ways so early into their marriage. However, she later admitted that things did not work out and that “it wasn’t what I signed up for,” calling it “not the marriage that I know I deserved.”

She further added that “I knew that very quickly. Plenty happened to where it was very clear to me this was not, this just wasn’t a marriage.” In another part of her interview on Dumb Blonde, Pearce and Bunnie XO also talked about rumors of Michael Ray being unfaithful during their relationship. While the country singer did not directly comment on the claims, she mentioned that she found it frustrating to deal with the situation at the time. “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,” she said.

Pearce is back stronger: “I’m in the Happiest Season of My Life”

As a result of the marriage that “she knew from the night they got married, that it was wrong,” the ‘Live Forever’ hitmaker seems to have grown into a stronger woman, and now, she considers her own self as the most important person in her life. “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 know that that probably sounds so narcissistic, but that is just the place I am at now,” Pearce said.

The ‘Coat Throw’ singer has since moved on and is now set to release her new music. As she continues to let go of the past relationship and appreciate where she is today, Pearce declared that “I am in the happiest season of my life. And 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.”