Carly Pearce Says She’s ‘Stronger Than I Thought’ After Michael Ray Divorce

Four months after filing for divorce from husband Michael Ray after eight months of marriage, Carly Pearce has publicly discussed the split, sharing that she hopes her fans can respect her privacy as she navigates her new chapter. “Hopefully people respect us to understand that we are humans and I certainly didn’t get married to get divorced,” she told ET Canada.

“But things happen,” she added. “I think it’s just something that has to stay between the two of us and I’ve felt the love of fans and appreciate that, and I think it’s one of those moments that, ‘You’re a human!’” Reflecting on her past few months, Pearce shared that she’s “way stronger” than she thought.

“It’s so easy to look at artists like myself or whoever and think that their lives are perfect,” she said. “It’s just not a reality, for any of us. I’m just trying to really… I think when you go through a lot of changes in every aspect of your life you kind of just realize imperfections are what make us all ourselves.”

Last month, Pearce released her new single “Next Girl,” a letter from a woman to her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend warning her about the man in question. Pearce wrote the song with Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally and shared that it’s “crazy” and “therapeutic for me” to think that the song could help someone else through their own healing.

“If you listen to any of my music and you listen to the stories and the way that I tell just my stories through songs, I think that’s always been a huge part of it is being honest, and being authentic,” she said. “And this new music and ‘Next Girl’ is no different than that.”

Speaking to Kelleigh Bannen on The Kelleigh Bannen Show on Apple Music Country last month, Pearce opened up about life in the public eye and shared that she is planning to approach certain aspects of her life differently in the future.

“Since I started making music at this level, my first song was so personal and I think it showed me that we’re all humans and we all go through the same things,” Pearce said, referencing her breakout hit “Every Little Thing.” “And I almost feel like sometimes being vulnerable and being real and being a human being, because a lot of people see our lives as kind of almost not real at times. And just to kind of bring it back, humble pie and be like, ‘No, no, no, no. I’m just like you.’”

“I think that is a part of my narrative that I want to keep moving towards and going into,” she continued. “However, I do think I’ve learned some lessons through the last few years of maybe to keep certain things more private, maybe not exploit every aspect of your life too quickly.”