Kacey Musgraves has opened up about the inspiration for her new album, revealing she is ‘evaluating what love means to me’ – four months after her split from Cole Schafer.
The country singer, 35, who split from the poet in November 2023, will release Deeper Well on March 15 and said the music ‘sums up where I am in my mid-30s’ and how she has ‘removed obstacles for growth. ‘
The title track sees the star sing: ‘It’s been a really good time / But you’ve got dark energy, something I can’t see / And I gotta take care of myself / I found a deeper well.’
She told People: ‘Ultimately, the song sums up where I am in my mid-30s and really evaluating what love means to me, what friendships mean to me, what are the things that I need, what really serves me and doesn’t serve me.
“It’s (about) taking stock and making room for the things that actually matter.”
Kacey Musgraves has opened up about the inspiration for her new album, revealing she’s ‘evaluating what love means to me’ – four months after her split from Cole Schafer
The country singer, 35, who split from the poet in November 2023, will release Deeper Well on March 15 and said the music ‘sums up where I am in my mid-30s’ and how she has ‘removed obstacles to growth ( image 2022)
‘This life is so short. I think you have to be a bit ruthless about removing obstacles to growth. This may mean adjusting your expectations with family members. It could be putting a break on a friendship.
‘It could be a breakup or dropping a habit that just isn’t serving you well anymore. It is being awake enough to be attuned to pay attention to what the flow of nature is trying to tell you about what you need.’
Kacey and Cole were first linked in June 2021, nearly a year after Kacey and her songwriter husband Ruston Kelly announced their divorce.
Cole and Kacey were together for more than two years, a source informed Page six in November they broke up ‘at least a month’ ago.
Talk of their breakup has reportedly been flying around the country music capital of Nashville, which they both call home.
They also seem to have unfollowed each other on Instagram, although they haven’t deleted their photos of each other.
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Kacey for comment.
Shortly after their romance went public, Kacey shared New York Times they first met when they spotted each other across a crowded restaurant.
She told People: ‘Ultimately, the song sums up where I am in my mid-30s and really evaluating what love means to me, what friendships mean to me, what are the things that I need, what really serves me and does not serve me’
“He didn’t know who I was, which I loved,” said Kacey, a country star whose hit songs include Slow Burn and Merry Go ‘Round.
A few weeks later, Cole fired up his Instagram and treated Kacey to a glowing testimonial along with a romantic photo album for her birthday.
“Here you look to the right when you entered the F***. Here’s to you writing back to me,” he wrote in the post, which included a snap of them in bed together.
“Here’s to your lip-smacking jaw line and your hair I can’t keep my hands off. Here’s to your aesthetic and your art is a close second to your heart.”
Kacey was equally glowing in her praise for Cole when she wished him a happy birthday on her Instagram page in January.
She gushed about the ‘laughs and the adventures, the deep conversations, the ego checks, the wise advice, the kiss on the pan, the books you recommend, your late night “oh I just whipped it up” and somehow it’s extremely gourmet pasta (like a Michelin star actually) situations, the beautiful way you observe the world and the words that follow.’
Kacey added for good measure: ‘And mostly your unabashed, full-throttle vulnerability, which is easily the sexiest thing about you.’
Kacey first became involved with her ex-husband Ruston Kelly in 2018 after they met at the Bluebird Cafe, an iconic country music venue in Nashville.
Ruston is a singer-songwriter like Kacey, and the pair worked together during their romance, including on a record of Johnny Cash’s poem To June This Morning.
The couple were first linked in June 2021, nearly a year after Kacey and her songwriter husband Ruston Kelly announced their divorce; Kacey and Ruston are pictured in 2019
The dynamic duo got married in 2017 and then jointly announced over the summer of 2020 that they had decided to separate.
In a profile with Rolling stones the year after her divorce, she explained that her relationship ‘just wasn’t working’ with Ruston.
‘It’s nothing more than that. These are two people who love each other so much, but for so many reasons, it just didn’t work. I mean, the seasons change. Our season changed.’
She admitted: ‘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. I just have to tell myself that I was brave to follow these feelings through.’
Kacey cited the example of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who have been together since 1983 but never married, who are ‘doing something right’.
The Texas-born crooner explained to the music magazine that ‘I think I live best for myself. I think it’s OK to realize that.’