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Singer Carly Pearce recently shared some of the “most private and most painful” details of her divorce from fellow country singer Michael Ray, admitting that “on the day I got married, I knew it was a mistake.”

Pearce revealed in an interview on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast that she was more in “lust” with Ray than she was in “love” and soon realized that they “weren’t on the same path.” The Grammy Award-winning singer and Michael Ray got married in 2019, but announced their divorce only eight months later.

A new season and a brighter future

Sharing some stories about her marriage to Bunnie XO on the Dumb Blonde podcast, Pearce said she and Ray met in Nashville before their first show together, and after that, she was “hooked.”

“It was a crazy whirlwind,” the Kentucky-native continued. “I thought he was so cute. 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 noted, however, that despite the sudden doubts, she was still set on making the relationship work and married Ray with good intentions in mind. “I got married to go the distance. When I married him, it was for the right reasons,” she said.

However, in retrospect, the “Closer to You” singer said that neither of them put in the work to ensure they had a stable foundation for a long-lasting marriage. “We 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.”

Pearce then admitted that on the day of her wedding, she “knew” that she shouldn’t have gotten married. “I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have,” the singer said. Pearce noted that she is grateful for the COVID-19 pandemic since it “allowed [her] to deal with that in private.”

“I probably would have stayed in it longer if I could have avoided it and not had to,” she continued. “… I was embarrassed when it happened … and I had shame around that and was heartbroken.”

Pearce Files for Divorce from Michael Ray

In October 2020, Pearce and Ray’s divorce became official after the singer filed for the dissolution of their marriage in Davidson County Chancery Court. As per the news outlet’s official documents, the “29: Written in Stone” singer initiated the divorce in November 2019.

In the podcast, Pearce said: “It wasn’t what I signed up for. It just wasn’t the marriage that I know 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.”

During her sit-down with Bunnie XO, they briefly discussed reports that Pearce’s ex-husband was “cheating” on her during their relationship. While Pearce did not comment on the cheating rumors, she said: “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.”

Pearce then added: “I am in the happiest season of my life.” “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.”

In a different interview, Pearce said: “I think I was really shown just how much I care about me. I actually really have a lot of self-worth, and that showed me that.” The singer has since found love with her girlfriend and manager, Sass.

Pearce wrote on her Instagram: “This woman is my absolute forever. My safe place. The person that just completes me in a way that is really difficult to put into words. To say I feel whole and safe and home would be an understatement.”