Everything Kacey Musgraves Has Said About Life After Ruston Kelly Split

Kacey Musgraves filed for divorce from Ruston Kelly in July 2020 after less than three years of marriage — get the details

Not her “Golden Hour.” Kacey Musgraves has slowly opened up more and more about her divorce from Ruston Kelly — and she’s ready to fully heal from the heartbreak.

The musicians tied the knot in October 2017 after sparking their romance the previous year. In July 2020, they announced they were going their separate ways.

“We believe that we were put into each other’s lives for a divine reason and have both changed each other infinitely for the better,” the duo said in a joint statement at the time. “The love we have for each other goes far beyond the relationship we’ve shared as husband and wife. It’s a soul connection that can never be erased. … We hold no blame, anger or contempt for each other and we ask for privacy and positive wishes for us both as we learn how to navigate through this.”

According to their filing, which was obtained by Us Weekly, the pair asserted that they “still have love and respect for one another.” Musgraves cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split.

Two months later, the singers’ divorce was made final. A source told Us at the time that while Musgraves “was the one who initiated” the separation, she was “really upset” about the end of her marriage.

The “Butterflies” artist didn’t publicly address the breakup until February 2021, telling Rolling Stone that there’s a small part of her that “questions marriage as a whole, in general.”

She added, “I mean, I was open to it when it came into my life. I embraced it. I just have to tell myself I was brave to follow through on those feelings.”

Several months after breaking her silence, Musgraves revealed that she felt a shift in her relationship during the coronavirus pandemic. While she was thriving in her career, things were different at home, causing a number of questions to form in her mind.

“Why did I make these decisions? How did I get here?” she recalled wondering in the June/July 2021 issue of Elle. “How can I prevent myself from getting there again? Why do I keep choosing the same kind of people?”

Though marriage might not be for her, the seven-time CMA Award winner has let herself fall in love again. She was briefly linked to Nashville-based doctor Gerald Onuoua before going public with boyfriend Cole Schafer.

“Life is so much prettier with you in it,” the “Space Cowboy” singer gushed in an Instagram comment after the writer shared a handful of black-and-white PDA pics in August 2021.

Scroll down to see Musgraves’ most candid quotes about life and love after her divorce: