Megan Moroney is putting the rumors to rest. The Georgia native, 25 years old, was quickly linked with fellow country singer (and Vols fan) Morgan Wallen after commenting on each other’s Instagram posts, and Wallen even released a song called “Tennessee Fan” after she first released her hit single “Tennessee Orange.”.”
Moroney confirmed to SiriusXM’s The Highway in November 2022 that the Vols shirt she wore in the promotional art for the song actually belonged to Wallen, though the story behind it was quite harmless. “When I put a Tennessee shirt on, it just felt wrong,” she said in the interview. “And I knew if it felt that wrong, then it would probably be either a funny story or a good song to write about. So I came up with the hook for [Morgan Wallen] and brought it in and we wrote it. It is his shirt. But it’s just a shirt.”
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Moroney also sparked speculation by giving her first-ever show in Knoxville, the home of the University of Tennesee, where she wore an official No. 16 Vols jersey adorned with rhinestones. While Wallen’s song “Had Me By Halftime” references a girl wearing a No. 16 Tennessee jersey, that coincidence was easily explained away.
Peyton Manning wore No. 16 for the Vols, and Moroney was wearing a Manning jersey as she explained in a Tweet. In addition, “Had Me By Halftime” was released in April 2018, two years before Moroney moved to Nashville.
Thankfully, Moroney has stepped forward to dispel any remaining gossip. “The Highway interview, everyone I think saw it as me being trying to be sly, but I’m like, I’m actually just having a panic attack,” Moroney shared with PEOPLE. “I was honestly shocked that I even said that it was his shirt, but I guess since he had already confirmed it with the poster thing that he did, I was like, ‘Sure, yeah, it’s his shirt.’”
It’s that simple, Moroney explains, explaining that while the dating rumors made her feel “really uncomfortable,” she is thankful that people seem to care about her music. “I’m not the kind of person that likes to talk about things like that,” she says. “All my songs are about people. ‘Tennessee Orange’ is a very nice song, but if I told people who it’s about, then they would ask me who ‘Sleep on My Side’ is about. I can’t tell you that because it’s not a nice song!” she explained with a laugh.
“Sleep on My Side” is a new song off Moroney’s latest album Lucky, in which she mocks a lover’s promiscuity, or, as she sings, “I sleep on my side, and you sleep with everyone.”