Country music star Maren Morris on marriage, motherhood and divorce at age 35

Country music superstar Maren Morris tells Eddie Rowley how both loss and rebirth after divorce are themes on her new album

AT the age of 35, American country music superstar Maren Morris has been on life’s rollercoaster with marriage, motherhood and divorce.

Backstage at her Dublin show in the National Stadium this week, Maren jokes with Magazine+: “I have my therapist on speed dial.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Maren also talks about songwriting as her therapy, dealing with fame, how her five-year-old son Hayes is the light of everyone’s lives on tour and why she loves “goofball” Niall Horan.

Opening up about using her personal experiences as the source for her songs, Maren, whose divorce from fellow country singer Ryan Hurd was finalised in January of last year citing “irreconcilable differences”, says: “I have always written from a deeply personal place. Even as a teenager that was my way of working things out. So it would be weird if I wasn’t addressing very large things in my life.

“But also I feel with my new album (Dreamsicle) my goal was not, ‘oh let’s nail it all to the wall and make a divorce album.’ I was just writing with no end in sight, I didn’t want to be stagnant and I wanted to process what I was going through and be with my friends that I write with and have them help me process this crazy last few years.

“And I did. I noticed that of course I’m talking about grief and the aftermath of heartbreak and loss, but also I found myself in rooms healing and laughing again, writing songs that were funny and snarky.

“I was like, this is an interesting chapter of music for me because I feel like I’m addressing every feeling that comes with a divorce or a break up, which is a deep sense of loss, but also rebirth and finding yourself as a solo, independent person again and rebuilding that.

“And so there are a lot of layers there, questioning everything, but also lightening up and not taking everything so seriously because you’ve already been through something terrible and you just have to keep going.

“So the record ended up becoming more what happens in the aftermath of loss, which is a lot of emotions. I feel like I was able to really find the flirtation and humour in my single life again, and prioritise myself and my friends and not even diving into a new relationship.

“I think I’m now realising the relationship with myself is always going to be the important one, so I have to nurture that above all else.”

Did she have counselling or therapy in the aftermath or was her songwriting her therapy?

“I did both,” Maren reveals. “Songwriting is obviously an amazing tool for me, just like meditation or journaling or yoga.

“I think also professional therapy is important too. I don’t think music is a substitute for actual professional advice, but I think using both has been really helpful for me. I definitely have my therapist on speed dial.”

Maren, who announced during Pride this year that she is bi-sexual, says her personal reward for the honestly in her songwriting is discovering how it impacts the lives of her fans.

“What’s always been the best part of what I do is hearing from someone how a song helped them going through something really serious, or even in a light sense songs ended up being somebody’s first wedding dance.

“It’s like your work is soundtracking people’s really cute life moments and that’s such a compliment.”

When the conversation turns to motherhood, Maren is clearly besotted with her little boy Hayes, who is back in Nashville.

“He’s in school this week and then he’s going to join me for a couple of days in two weeks in London,” she reveals.

Motherhood is a whole different life.

“It’s fun, though,” she says. “He’s funny because he’s five-and-a-half now. I think because he takes after me he’s very organised. Sometimes he’ll organise his toys in his toy closet and we’re learning now how to make our bed and do all that stuff before we go out the door.

“He’s just the sweetest boy and I’ve been lucky to have had him on the road with me. He’s a mood lifter for the whole camp. We love touring, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing this for a living, but after many weeks on the road with the same people in this bubble I feel like when my son comes out on my weeks with him he just lifts everyone’s spirits and puts a smile on our faces.

“It’s pure, innocent energy. And he’s just hilarious. He’s very at home on the road.”

He’s going to be a natural growing up in this environment? “It’s starting to reveal itself, his passion for the stage,” she says. “He can’t decide if he wants to be in the band or the crew.

“I’m like, you know what, I love that you’re sort of coming to work with me every day and learning about everyone’s jobs and feeling interested.”

Maren says she has a comfortable level of fame. “It depends on where I am,” she says. “In Nashville I have my spots where I can blend in, but most people are really respectful. I feel like the fanbase I’ve cultivated isn’t disrespectful or boundary crossing.

“I’m very vocal about my boundary and protecting myself. And people are just really respectful. They don’t ask for pictures if I’m with my son. I feel like I have a good fanbase in that way.

“I’m really enjoying the level of fame or success that I’ve achieved and being able to really appreciate it even moreso now post-Covid.

“We couldn’t tour for a while and when we came back it was such a relief. You just don’t want to take it for granted, ever.

“I also feel artistically free to make the music I want to make. I still have dreams and goals that I want to achieve in my career.

“The fame part, I think that because I didn’t put my first record out until I was 26 I passed that stage of wanting notoriety. I feel like I’d be a little uncomfortable if I was more famous than I am because I can truly go anywhere and just be a guest and just be a normal person, while also getting to do the music I love.”

A friend of Niall Horan — she was the opening act for his 2018 Flicker World Tour and duetted on his debut album track, Seeing Blind — Maren says the Mullingar man has stayed humble despite his phenomenal success.

“When I met him I was a fan of his solo work and One Direction as well, and I was very struck when I was touring with him how just kind and normal he was and still is,” she tells me.

“I mean, he hasn’t changed, he’s still a hilarious goofball. He breaks the ice, there is no tension backstage. Sometimes crews are so big that you never even see the artist you are touring with. It did not feel like that with him. It was all hands on deck, we were all playing pickleball.”

He’s a lad? “Yeah, he’s a lad. And hopefully I attract people that work for me or with me or fans that are here for authenticity. I think not being an assh**e is always the first rule.”

That should be the same in any work environment. “Yeah, any profession, any person.”

You obviously have a good crew around you, that’s the key to it as well. “Yeah, I’ve built over the last 10 years a touring camp and management. Fifty per cent of the people in management positions on tour with me are women and that took a decade to build up to, and build trust with people, but it’s a well-oiled rig now.

“It makes the shows and the days off more enjoyable because there are a lot of hours in the day and the show is just two of those hours, so you have to have a good vibe with your road family.”

Maren Morris’s current album, Dreamsicle, is available on all music platforms.