She was hitting the peak as an artist after winning four Grammy Awards in 2019.
And though Kacey Musgraves was on cloud nine when it came to music career, she was living in her own personal hell.
The 32-year-old singer and songwriter was completely candid about the destruction of her marriage with fellow country musician Ruston Kelly in her June/July cover feature for Elle.
The Space Cowboy hitmaker explained: ‘I felt, in many ways, on top of the world in my career, but in my personal life, I felt like I was dying inside. I was crumbling. I was sad. I felt lonely. I felt broken.’
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‘I felt like I was dying inside’: Kacey Musgraves was completely candid about the destruction of her marriage with fellow musician Ruston Kelly as they filed for divorce in July 2020, they are seen together at the Universal Music Group’s Grammy Awards after party in February 2019
Kacey met Ruston, 32, on a songwriting date at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in 2016 and enjoyed a whirlwind romance which ended up being the inspiration for her highly-successful 2018 album Golden Hour.
The two were engaged later that year and married on October 14, 2017 in Tennessee before ultimately filing for divorce last year in July 2020.
Musgraves was honest about the end of their marriage which came at the peak of quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic as she said that being forced into self-isolation was a bit of an awakening for her.
She explained: ‘I could have coasted for another couple of years. Just not paying attention to my feelings or not really dealing with some things.’
Pretty in pink: The 32-year-old singer and songwriter looked absolutely stunning on the cover of the June/July issue of Elle
The Follow Your Arrow hitmaker became incredibly introspective during that time as she asked herself tough questions including: ‘Why did I make these decisions? How did I get here? How can I prevent myself from getting there again? Why do I keep choosing the same kind of people?’
She also went on to second-guess some of the choices in her life.
‘I would love to meet the person who makes a very insane life decision and is just,’ she snapped her fingers according to Elle writer Veronique Hyland. ‘Fine from then on.’
Despite the dark period, Kacey has managed to have a sense of humor through it all as she joked about her big night at the 2019 Grammy Awards which she capped off by winning Album Of The Year for Golden Hour.
Muse: Kacey met Ruston, 32, on a songwriting date at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in 2016 and enjoyed a whirlwind romance which ended up being the inspiration for her highly-successful 2018 album Golden Hour, as they are seen together in New York in February 2020
She donned an iconic bright-red Valentino ruffled gown completely dumbfounded as she addressed Ruston during her acceptance speech saying: ‘This album wouldn’t have been created without you.’
Now she quipped: ‘If you would’ve told me the night of the Grammys, “Hey, in two years, you’re going to be divorced and have a whole ‘nother album written,” I would have been like, “F*** off. No. No way.’
Like she did with Golden Hour, Kacey was able to soak in her feelings of the moment and channel them into songwriting which eventually turned into 40 songs which have since been cut to 15.
Her fifth full-length album – which is yet to be titled – is set to be released in late summer/early fall as it was recently announced that the project will be released in partnership with UMG Nashville and Interscope Records, which is her first release on the later label.
‘F*** off. No. No way’: Despite the dark period, Kacey has managed to have a sense of humor through it all as she joked about her big night at the 2019 Grammy Awards which she capped off by winning Album Of The Year for Golden Hour and dedicated the win to Ruston
Musgraves said that inspiration for lyrics even come from the exact lowest moments as she explained: ‘I’ll be in the middle of an argument and somebody’ll say something, and I’ll be like, “Damn, that’s a good line. I need to remember that.”‘
Despite her past successes with writing personal music, the star is worried about how the album will be perceived due to how transparent she is as she said: ‘It’s daunting to put your emotions about something really personal on display.
‘I haven’t spoken much about this chapter, and I don’t feel like I owe that to anyone, but I owe it to myself as a creator to flesh out all these emotions that I’ve felt, and I do that through song.
‘It would be strange if I didn’t acknowledge what happened in my life creatively, but it is scary to be like, “I’m about to share my most personal thoughts about me, about this other person, about a union that I had with someone.” I mean, I’m not a ruthless person. I care about other people’s feelings. So it’s kind of scary.’
‘She can do whatever she wants to’: Despite the trepidation, Kacey has the seal of approval from legends in the country music scene including Willie Nelson who she has collaborated with on multiple occasions, they are seen in Nashville back in November 2019
Despite the trepidation, Kacey has the seal of approval from legends in the country music scene including Willie Nelson who she has collaborated with on multiple occasions.
‘What I love about her is not only her voice, but her personality that goes with that voice,’ 88-year-old Nelson told Elle. ‘It’s, “Hey, this is me. I hope you like me, but if you don’t, that’s cool.”‘
Though Musgraves is known for making her name in country music, she doesn’t feel anchored down to the genre as she named influences on the new album including Daft Punk, Sade, The Eagles, Bill Withers, and Weezer.
Willie said: ‘She can do whatever she wants to. I think whatever she thinks she can do, you’d better get out of the way.’
Meanwhile Kacey has been in a relationship with Nashville-based physician, Dr. Gerald Onuoha, as she has posted selfies with him on her social media and they were even seen enjoying a very intimate embrace in Los Angeles last month.
Moving on: Meanwhile Kacey has been in a relationship with Nashville-based physician, Dr. Gerald Onuoha, as she has posted selfies with him on her social media and they were even seen enjoying a very intimate embrace in Los Angeles last month