Maren Morris Opens up About 'Accepting' Relationship With Ryan Hurd

Maren Morris has been married to Ryan Hurd for almost a year. The couple began dating in 2015, less than a year before Morris released her freshman Hero album in 2016. Morris already stated that Hurd influenced much of her upcoming GIRL record, out on Friday, March 8, but she is now opening up about more of their romance, revealing just how much of both her personal and professional life Hurd influences.

"He is so comfortable with saying how much he loves me," Morris told Taste of Country. "I don't know if it's the Texan in me or what, but it takes a lot of heat to melt this ice."

Morris included their love story in several of the tracks on GIRL, including "The Bones" and a song called "Make Out With Me," which openly confronts issues Morris believes many women – including herself – face.

"There's this weird thing of complex that maybe some people have once you get married, you're completely someone else's, and you don't get to be sexy anymore," Morris maintained. "Or if you become a mom, which obviously I haven't done yet. The fact that people have this weirdness about me being sexy after that is just so stupid. I don't care that I'm married right now, I'm still a very independent person. That's why he loves me. I'm gonna say it in a song, like, 'I'm gonna make out with you.'"

Hurd previously defended Morris, after someone criticized Morris and her revealing outfit on social media.

"I don't usually respond because Maren can handle herself, but I had a whole response to this based on the fact that usually only dudes leave that s— on here but you're a woman! Wow!" Hurd responded at the time. "Maybe even a mom, I didn't check, but I would hope no one ever said something like that to you or maybe your poor, poor daughter, who will probably grow up in a house that tells her that her own body is a bad thing."

"Maren isn't naked," he concluded. "Leave my wife alone and go back in the hole you crawled out of."

Hurd's love and acceptance of Morris, especially at a time when her career is at an all-time high – and still growing – is refreshing for the singer, who admits she didn't have a lot of experience prior to falling in love with Hurd.

"I'm a serial monogamist — I haven't had a thousand boyfriends," Morris said. "I was with one person for five years. That was my first love. As that was falling apart, my career starting taking off. It's funny how that can just happen sometimes. We were also so young, and I don't think anyone is ready for to sign up for someone being an artist, and being now the world's commodity. That's a hard thing to ask of someone in the middle of your relationship."

"I do take responsibility for my half of it, but also, I don't want to dim my light for someone else," she continued. "I think that's why I love Ryan so much. Even in my darkest tunnels that I've been through in my life — he has seen nothing but beauty. And he never has tried to water me down. I think sometimes I can be pretty obnoxious, but he loves it. He never makes me feel stupid, or like I'm being over the top, or embarrassing him. He's just completely accepting."

GIRL is available for pre-order at MarenMorris.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/ Erika Goldring/WME IMG