Carly Pearce opens up about divorce from Michael Ray: 'My love was real'

By Carena Liptak

Video by Brittany Berkowitz

2020 has been the biggest year of Carly Pearce’s musical career to date, with her success underscored by an early CMAs win for musical event of the year, courtesy of her hit duet with Lee Brice, "I Hope You’re Happy Now."

But personally, Pearce sums up 2020 as being "single-handedly the hardest year of my life."

This summer, the singer filed for divorce from fellow artist Michael Ray after just eight months of marriage. Now, she tells People that the breakup left her questioning everything.

"I truly thought I was gonna die," Pearce said. "There were moments I seriously did not know if I could breathe. It was awful. It is awful."

The singer stresses that she doesn’t consider her marriage a mistake. "My love was real. I will stand by that forever," Pearce said.

Jason Kempin/Getty Images, FILE

Carly Pearce and Michael Ray attend the 12th Annual T.J. Martell Foundation Nashville Gala on Feb. 24, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn.

While she declines to mention the specifics of how the relationship fell apart, Pearce did explain that divorce wasn’t something she took lightly.

"This was not a flippant decision," she added. "This was something that I really took time to make sure I was doing the right thing. It was very clear that this was not the marriage I wanted."

As she looks ahead toward the future, Pearce is bolstered by the support of her close friends. The same woman who served as her maid of honor will be accompanying her to the 2020 CMA Awards, and she feels a lot of warmth and love from her musical community, too.

"I feel like country music keeps hugging me when it knows I need it ... I just feel this huge hug of, like, ‘We got you.’ And it’s awesome," Pearce said.