Image Credit: Daniel DeSlover/Shutterstock
Carly Pearce is a growing star in the country music world. With three albums under her belt and plenty of awards to her name, Carly, 33, is still at the start of a very long career. In 2023, she also won her first-ever Grammy Award. The singer has already won a handful of Country Music Association Awards throughout her career, but she’s also nominated for two more awards at the 2023 award ceremony on Wednesday, November 8. She’s up for the Female Vocalist of the Year award as well as the Musical Event of the Year award for her Chris Stapleton collaboration “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” which she’s also set to perform at the ceremony.
Over the years, Carly hasn’t shied away from singing about themes like love or heartbreak. Before she takes the stage at the CMA Awards, take a look back on some of the men she’s loved through the years.
Michael Ray
Carly and Michael at the 2019 ACM Awards. (Broadimage/Shutterstock)
One of Carly’s first public romances was with fellow country singer Michael Ray. She revealed her relationship with the “Think a Little Less” singer in 2018, and before the end of that year, they got engaged during a holiday vacation in Mexico. The pair tied the knot in October 2019, but after just eight months of marriage, Carly filed for divorce in June 2020.
Carly reflected on her split in her 2021 album 29. “I feel like if I did not share my truth that fans wouldn’t have believed me. I feel like, in a lot of ways, this was kind of my artistic expression to get out what has happened to me in the last little bit,” she told HollywoodLife in an exclusive interview. “It’s closing a chapter of the in-between, gap situation.”
Michael opened up about the split in a 2023 interview on the Bobby Cast podcast. “I can’t speak for her, but for me, it was like, ‘Man, look at all this going right.’ Also, we weren’t around each other a lot,” he said, per Taste of Country. “We didn’t do counseling, we didn’t do any of that beforehand, and I think that — there was moments, that I look back now and I’m like, ‘Why didn’t I speak up on that?’ That was one of the first times I realized that her and I are opposite.”
Riley King
Carly and Riley at a 2023 pre-Grammy party. (John Salangsang/Shutterstock)
Nearly a year after her divorce, Carly was rumored to be dating former baseball player-turned-real estate agent Riley King, when she shared a cute photo of the two of them sitting on a couch together in May 2021, per People. Unfortunately, after two years, the couple called it quits in June 2023. “Carly and I have parted ways and I wish her nothing but the best in both her career and personal life,” Riley told Page Six.
Carly also shared some thoughts on why things didn’t work out in a statement to People. “People date to see if they’re gonna go the distance, and we weren’t. We just simply were not right for each other, and that’s the bottom line. I am on such a beautiful journey, and I am really excited about the next chapter of my life,” she said.
B.C. Taylor
About a month after her split from Riley, some rumors surfaced about Carly dating her drummer B.C. Taylor. Speculation began as Carly began posting behind-the-scenes shots of herself and the drummer on Instagram, where they definitely looked cute, per Country Now.
Besides photos where Carly and B.C. look cute, the drummer did pen a sweet message for the singer when they played on The Tonight Show in October. He posted a photo of them backstage and gushed about Carly. “I am so Proud to be with this woman. I played my first major late night television show tonight and I did it with someone I love. I do not feel deserving of how blessed my life is, but that is just how God does it. He over delivers and I am so thankful he does,” he wrote.
Carly also wrote, “I love you” back in a comment. While their romance has not been confirmed, there’s definitely a lot to speculate on!
