Kacey Musgraves Just Gave a Rare Insight Into Her Divorce From Ruston Kelly

Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly may have announced their divorce in July 2020, but it sounds like both are coping even better than expected.

The marriage “just simply didn’t work out,” Musgraves told Rolling Stone magazine. “It’s nothing more than that. It’s two people who love each other so much, but for so many reasons, it just didn’t work.”

Ever the songwriter, she also put it somewhat lyrically, using the weather as a metaphor: “I mean, seasons change. Our season changed.”

The start of this new chapter has Musgraves reevaluating what her ideal relationship might look like. “Part of me questions marriage as a whole, in general. I mean, I was open to it when it came into my life. I embraced it,” she reflected. “I just have to tell myself I was brave to follow through on those feelings.” She added that unmarried long-term partners, like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, are “doing something right.”

Maybe the traditional household family setup just isn’t for her. “I think I live best by myself. I think it’s okay to realize that,” the “High Horse” songstress mused. “I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on growing up as a woman in the South and being a performer from a young age—we were told to please, to make this person happy. That has to imprint on your code. It kind of erodes boundaries. So I’m trying to examine things that may not be useful anymore and maybe unlearn some things.”

Still on good terms with Kelly, Musgraves also opened up about the tricky balancing act of singing about her life without, you know, writing a tell-all. “It’s a therapeutic outlet for me, you know? I can’t help but to write about what I’m going through,” she explained. “I want to honor the huge range of emotion that I’ve felt over this past year, past six months. I also want to honor the relationship we had and the love we have for each other. Because it’s very real.” 

We know she’ll figure it out—she’s Kacey Musgraves.