Miranda Lambert’s New Boyfriend Reportedly ‘Ghosted’ Wife, Blindsided Her With Divorce

There’s some drama brewing in Miranda Lambert‘s relationship with new boyfriend Evan Felker.

PEOPLE reported on Monday night that Felker, who was married to Staci Nelson until mid-February, left his wife for Lambert after their relationship began to grow romantic.

The notion that [Felker and Nelson’s] divorce happened for any reason other than that is complete bulls—,” a source close to the couple told the magazine.

The source claimed the two started texting when his band, Turnpike Troubadours, opened for her for three concerts in early February.

“They had never met and she had started texting him about looking forward to playing together and getting to know each other and maybe they could write because she really liked his writing sort of thing,” the source claimed. “It started very much about work. He was completely thrilled. By the time he was leaving for tour, it had become a lot flirtier.”

The source said as the text’s continued, Felker came clean to Nelson.

“He knew it was flirty and crossed a line with Staci. He showed her the whole thing and felt bad about it. It wasn’t sexual or anything, but he was like, ‘I don’t want to blow her off because this is the kind of money that can change our grandkids’ lives if I’m able to write with this person.”

After the three-day tour was over, Felker allegedly skipped his flight back to his Oklahoma and kept traveling with Lambert. The only contact he gave his newlywed wife was an e-mail reading “I’m not coming home this week.”

“[People are] making it seem like, ‘Oh, they got close while they were on tour together,’ as if the tour was six months long, but it was three days, and the first two of those he was still acting like he was in love with his wife,” the source said.

The insider went on to say Felker “full-on ghosted” his wife from then, and that their relationship was what caused him to file for divorce on Feb. 16.

“The notion that he was planning to divorce [Felker] before he met her is complete insanity,” the source said. “He got sucked into it. He’s not a victim; he’s a grown man and should have said no.”

Nelson, still going be Felker on social media addressed the scandal with a post reading, “If Staci Felker can make it through this week, so can you.”

Neither Lambert nor Felker’s reps responded when asked for comment from PEOPLE. But Lambert has been fighting back against the rumors in her personal life.

“Miranda definitely doesn’t like being in the spotlight like this, having her love life scrutinized and analysed is her idea of hell, but she realizes it’s part and parcel of being famous,” an insider told Hollywood Life. “Miranda thinks it’s unfortunate that Evan’s ex is making a public show out of their breakup, and implying she’s a homewrecker, because, she insists, that’s not the case at all.”