Carly Pearce is not here for the drama and she’s making it known. Recently, the singer publicly responded to rumors that she and fellow country star Maren Morris have been feuding. It’s unclear exactly how the speculation all started, but the rumor mill was spinning again this week when it was announced that Pearce collaborated with Morris’ ex-husband, Ryan Hurd, for a cover of Tom Petty’s “Breakdown” from the forthcoming album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
Over on X (formerly Twitter), someone shared the news and implied that Pearce had thrown “shade” at Morris. The singer soon responded, saying that she and Hurd have been friends “for over 10 [years]” and that she agreed to do the song when her record label reps asked “because he’s a great artist.” She then added, “STOP making something out of nothing!”
Okay. Since I have seen this all over, I figured I would respond. Ryan has a been a friend of mine for over 10 yrs. I was asked by my label to record this song with him for the Petty tribute and of course I said yes because he’s a great artist. STOP making something out of…
— Carly Pearce (@carlypearce) March 4, 2024
Morris and Hurd married in 2018 and share one child, a 3-year-old son named Hayes. In October 2023, Morris filed for divorce from Hurd, after five years of marriage. During a December appearance on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show, Morris opened up about the split, saying, “I think this year has – for a lot of people, not just me – a lot of people that are close to me have gone through it.”
“I’ve known so many people that have gone through breakups or divorces,” Morris continued, later telling Stern she “would like this to sort of wrap up,” speaking about the split. In January, ET reported that the pair had settled their divorce.
For Hurd’s part, a source told Us Weekly last year that he wasn’t prepared when Morris filed for divorce, saying her decision appeared to “come out of the blue.” The source added, “Ryan wasn’t expecting it.”
A close friendship developed between Hurd and Morris before they began dating in 2015. Hurd proposed in 2017, and they were married in Nashville the following year. Prior to their breakup, Hurd was widely viewed as one of Morris’ fiercest supporters in the media. During the debate about gender confirmation care for transgender youth that sparked her feud with Jason and Brittany Aldean last year, Hurd stood firmly on Morris’ side.
“Scoring quick points by picking on trans kids isn’t something that is brave at all,” he tweeted in August 2022. “And I’m proud of Maren for sticking up for them. … Shut up and sing only applies to those who you disagree with.” A few weeks before Morris filed for divorce, Hurd redoubled his support for her. “She deserves to be celebrated, not just tolerated,” wrote Hurd in an Instagram tribute on Sept. 20 in response to Morris’ announcement that she was leaving country music.