Lauren Alaina Admits It Was 'Very Difficult' to Have Romantic Life Made Public on 'Dancing With the Stars'

2019 wasn't easy on Lauren Alaina's heart. The Georgia native ended her lengthy relationship to Alex Hopkins, less than two years after they announced their engagement, and then subsequently broke up with Christian comedian John Crist, with the news of their break-up coming out on the same day she made her debut on Dancing With the Stars. It was a lot for anyone to deal with privately, let alone while millions of people were talking about it.

"I have had some major upsets in the love department, and that is very difficult to do publicly," Alaina admitted to the Chicago Sun Times. "To go through that and have millions of people talking about it — it wasn't easy. I mean, there was a time when I wanted to get married and have kids and find a job that gave me good health insurance. There was a time when I couldn't even imagine not getting married."

Alaina and Hopkins announced their split only a few months after the singer said goodbye to her beloved step-father, Sam Ramker, who died in October of 2018 after battling cancer.

"Hopkins and I were together for seven years and then we got engaged and then we were supposed to get married and then we realized that we might not be best for one another," Alaina said. "I will love him forevermore."

Alaina is busy on the road, marking her first time as a headliner, with her That Girl Was Me Tour, which has sold out most of her shows so far. She will also join Blake Shelton next month, on his Friends and Heroes Tour. In between, the 25-year-old is dating, but not just one person.

"I'm happy being a single adult," Alaina said. "I go on dates but I'm really bad at it."

One thing is certain: Alaina is not at all who she was before she appeared on Dancing With the Stars.

"I grew so much personally," Alaina said of being on DWTS. "But it was definitely a time of intense growth for me. I was away from home and away from my family and everything I knew. It was just a very emotionally charged time for me. It totally took me out of my comfort zone."

"It was so fun to dance and express myself through something else than writing songs," she continued. "I was able to go through what was happening in my life through dance, while, at the same time, entertaining others."

Alaina just announced her new EP, Getting Good, will be released on March 6.

Photo Credit: Getty / Adria Malcolm