Kacey Musgraves Shares How Ruston Kelly Opened Her Heart: “He Made Me Laugh Again”

Kacey Musgraves Shares How Ruston Kelly Opened Her Heart: “He Made Me Laugh Again”

During her Grammy acceptance speech for Best Country Album for Golden Hour on Feb. 10, Kacey Musgraves shared some heartfelt sentiments about her singer/songwriter husband, Ruston Kelly.

“My sweet husband is down here, Ruston—I love you,” said Kacey from the stage. “I really believe I wouldn’t have this album if I hadn’t met you and you didn’t open my heart like you did, so thank you so much.”

The future lovebirds initially met at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe in March 2016, after one of Ruston’s shows. A few months later, they got together for a songwriting session—and the rest is history. Kacey and Ruston got engaged in December 2016, before tying the knot in October 2017.

If you were wondering how Ruston helped “open” her heart, Kacey recently shared the sweet details with Blair Garner of the Blair Garner Show.

“First of all, it was his songs,” says Kacey. “This is such a Nashville story, but it was February, early March 2016, and I had nothing to do one night and I was randomly in town. I had just taken time off the road to just stay in town and write and start getting creative again, kind of get back to my creative center. This one night in particular, I didn’t have any plans. A friend was playing a songwriter round at the Bluebird and they were like, ‘You should come.’ So I went alone and sat at a table. Ruston was playing in the songwriting round and I had no idea who he was. But he played these songs, and they just really got to me. They floored me. I was kind of in a sad headspace around this time. I had just gotten out of a relationship and creatively was kind of lost. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and I just felt kind of weird.

“Anyways, his songs really spoke to me and I loved them so much. After the show, I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey, I never do this, but I really love your songs. Here’s my number. We should write sometime.’ That’s not like me to really step out on a limb like that. I definitely wasn’t even thinking in romantic terms. I just was really intrigued by his songs and his brain. I said we should write. So a few months went by and he would try to text me every now and then. I’d be like, delete. Whatever. I wasn’t looking for anything.

“But May 11th rolled around, 2016. I remember the date, May 11th. And he was coming to my house to write. The second he walked in my door, it was like just Dorothy walking into the colorful side of Wizard of Oz. He made me laugh again. I hadn’t laughed in what felt like forever. We made drinks, and we didn’t even get to writing because we were just talking about life and ourselves into the night. Just really hit it off. It just felt like, ‘Whoa, who is this? This is my best friend. Where have you been? Who are you?’ I wasn’t trying to get into any kind of relationship. I was like, ‘Damnit.’ But this is awesome. And then we dated for eight or nine months, got engaged. We were engaged for another nine months, and then we got married in October.”

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Blogs

Kane Brown Cracks Country Airplay Top 10 With “Backseat Driver,” As Morgan Wallen’s “I’m The Problem” Leads For Second Week

Kane Brown earns his 14th career Top 10 hit on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, as "Backseat Driver" climbs to No. 10 this week. The track was written by Jacob Davis and Jordan Walker, and was produced by Dann Huff. It’s lifted from Brown’s recent record, The High Road, which debuted at No. 2 on the…

Kane Brown Cracks Country Airplay Top 10 With “Backseat Driver,” As Morgan Wallen’s “I’m The Problem” Leads For Second Week

Kane Brown earns his 14th career Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, as “Backseat Driver” climbs to No. 10 this week. The track was written by Jacob Davis and Jordan Walker, and was produced by Dann Huff. It’s lifted from Brown’s recent record, The High Road, which debuted at No. 2 on the…

Jelly Roll Joined By Lana Del Rey, Shaboozey, MGK, And Wiz Khalifa During Stagecoach Headlining Set

During Jelly Roll’s headlining performance at Stagecoach on Saturday night (April 26), Lana Del Rey made a surprise appearance, joining Jelly for a duet performance of "Save Me," with Lana filling in for the track’s original vocalist, Lainey Wilson. “This is my favorite crooner of all time. Lana Del Rey is with me, y’all,” Jelly…

Jelly Roll Joined By Lana Del Rey, Shaboozey, MGK, And Wiz Khalifa During Stagecoach Headlining Set

During Jelly Roll’s headlining performance at Stagecoach on Saturday night (April 26), Lana Del Rey made a surprise appearance, joining Jelly for a duet performance of “Save Me,” with Lana filling in for the track’s original vocalist, Lainey Wilson. “This is my favorite crooner of all time. Lana Del Rey is with me, y’all,” Jelly…

Maren Morris Announces 2025 ‘Dreamsicle’ World Tour

On Friday (April 25), Maren Morris announced the dates and details of her 2025 Dreamsicle World Tour. The country star will be promoting her fourth studio album, which is set for release on May 9. The jaunt features dates across North America running from May 30 to September 26, including stops in major cities like…

Maren Morris Announces 2025 ‘Dreamsicle’ World Tour

On Friday (April 25), Maren Morris announced the dates and details of her 2025 Dreamsicle World Tour. The country star will be promoting her fourth studio album, which is set for release on May 9. The jaunt features dates across North America running from May 30 to September 26, including stops in major cities like…

Lana Del Rey Sings About Kissing Morgan Wallen, Covers Tammy Wynette And John Denver During Stagecoach Debut

Lana Del Rey's highly-anticipated “very special country set” in the Palomino tent at Stagecoach on Friday night (April 25) featured nods to music icons like Tammy Wynette – with a cover of “Stand By Your Man” – and John Denver during her 65-minute performance. Amid speculation about the country sound of her upcoming album, Del…

Lana Del Rey Sings About Kissing Morgan Wallen, Covers Tammy Wynette And John Denver During Stagecoach Debut

Lana Del Rey’s highly-anticipated “very special country set” in the Palomino tent at Stagecoach on Friday night (April 25) featured nods to music icons like Tammy Wynette – with a cover of “Stand By Your Man” – and John Denver during her 65-minute performance. Amid speculation about the country sound of her upcoming album, Del…

Miranda Lambert Tells Ella Langley She Won ACM’s New Female Artist Of The Year Award

During her set at Rock the Country in Knoxville on Friday (April 25), Ella Langley was surprised with her first ACM Award for New Female Artist of the Year through a congratulatory video from Miranda Lambert, the winningest artist in ACM history. Langley is the top-nominated artist for the upcoming 60th ACM Awards with eight…

Miranda Lambert Tells Ella Langley She Won ACM’s New Female Artist Of The Year Award

During her set at Rock the Country in Knoxville on Friday (April 25), Ella Langley was surprised with her first ACM Award for New Female Artist of the Year through a congratulatory video from Miranda Lambert, the winningest artist in ACM history. Langley is the top-nominated artist for the upcoming 60th ACM Awards with eight…