How Country Music's Newest Couples Met

Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans
In March 2016, Ballerini and Evans were co-hosts of Australia’s Country Music Channel Awards. Following the ceremony and a few shots in, Morgan asked Kelsea if he could kiss her and she said “yes.” By Christmas, the couple was engaged and later married on a beach in Cabo San Lucas.

Carly Pearce and Michael Ray
Carly Pearce pursued Michael Ray on social media, displaying flirty messages between them that fans quickly caught on to. By July 2018, Pearce and Ray confirmed their relationship. For Pearce, it was only after their first date at The Nashville Palace when she knew they would get married. “He put his arm around me, and we looked at each other. And I promise you, I went to my bus that night to get on tour and I told my band, 'I'm gonna marry Michael Ray.” Michael proposed in December on a vacation in Mexico and they were later married on October 6th, 2019.

Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner
After meeting on Season 16 of American Idol, Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner tied the knot in October of 2019. While their chemistry quickly became mutual, Gabby admits she was the one who initiated contact. "I had to get to know him first... he has lots of hair, just super cool rocker dude, and I wanted to make a video with him of us singing together. And so, I initiated it. I didn't think he liked me at first, but then he texted me and I was like, 'Oh I see what's going on here,' so it was a mutual thing, but I went after him first.”

Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd
Maren and Ryan met in 2013 when they were paired together for a studio session. During the session they wrote “Last Turn Home,” which was later recorded by Tim McGraw. While it did spark interest in one another, Morris and Hurd started off as friends. Later realizing there was something more between them Maren recalls, “we had been friends for only a couple of years, but there was always this writing chemistry in the room, and eventually, the timing of it was undeniable. We had such a foundation built off writing so many songs over the years that we were like, 'Why are we avoiding this?'” Ryan proposed to Maren in 2017 on fourth of July weekend. The couple tied the knot on March 24th, 2018 and Ryan played his song “Diamonds or Twine” at their wedding.