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Maren Morris opened up about dating after divorce.
The Intermission artist finalized her divorce from fellow singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd, 37, earlier this year. The two were married for more than five years. They tied the knot in March 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Morris, 34, shares one child with her ex-husband, son Hayes, 4. She cited “irreconcilable differences” when she filed for divorce in October 2023.
Morris said in an interview with PEOPLE that she’s prioritizing herself and “protect[ing] my heart,” in addition to avoiding “pouring myself into another person. …I love my career, I love my baby, I love my home, I love my friends. Those are all things that matter to me, and those are self-made. I only will allow someone to come into my life if they amplify any of it. They can't be a net negative. They can't drain my resources, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Financially, emotionally, spiritually. You truly have to have your s*** together to be any part of my life at this point.
“I think there's less pressure to make anything spark or happen, it's just like I'm enjoying dating for the first time,” Morris, who recently revealed she's bisexual, continued with PEOPLE. “Nothing crazy has happened yet, it's just mostly been like OK, I can still do this, I guess, and meet a stranger and connect through conversation. That's tougher than you'd think. …I am excited. This part of myself is the most confident and just not taking herself too seriously, so it is the perfect moment to be dating. My rules are just you have to be really spectacular to push me over.”
Morris previously spoke about her outlook on dating again in the months after she filed for divorce. She said in a December 2023 interview that she “cut all the trauma out of my hair. I think this year has — for a lot of people, not just me — a lot of people that are close to me have gone through it. I've known so many people that have gone through breakups or divorces.” At that time, Morris said she was not in the “headspace” to date again amid the split.
The award-winning country-pop artist said her new 5-track EP, Intermission, signifies a new chapter of her life and a “diary” of what she’s going through. Morris deemed the music “fun” and “heartbreaking at the same time, “because I’m allowing myself to go there (and) because I don’t have to protect anyone anymore.” She called the collection “the distillation of the strangest year of my life.”