Grammy-winning artist Maren Morris is stepping into a new chapter with the upcoming release of her fourth studio album ‘Dreamsicle,' arriving this Friday. In a candid new cover story with The Zoe Report, Morris speaks with Editor-in-Chief Angela Melero about the seismic changes in her personal and professional life—divorce, rediscovery, dating, identity, and the music industry at large. Read the original interview here.
In the in-depth interview, Morris doesn’t hold back. From humorous dating misfires to hard-earned personal insight, she paints a vivid picture of what it means to rebuild. Reflecting on her post-divorce life, she describes a newfound appreciation for personal space. “I can just sprawl out all my skin care and display all my fragrances,” she says. Despite living just minutes from her ex-husband Ryan Hurd, she notes that co-parenting their son Hayes is smooth. “Our stops are really easy, and we’ll have family dinners.”
Now splitting custody, Morris speaks honestly about the emotional recalibration that comes with parenting part-time. “Those weeks I have him, the house is full of chaos and energy and laughter and scraped knees… And then, when he is not there, you have to recalibrate your alone-ness.”
As Morris re-enters the dating world, she shares her boundary-setting approach to new connections. “Unless it is just from-the-jump sexual chemistry, I feel like it’s an interview… I can’t even fathom doing a full dinner on the first interaction.” She envisions a future relationship with distance—literally. “If I ever meet someone that I want to be romantically linked to, I’ll be like, ‘You can live next door.’ Frida [Kahlo] and her husband, their bedrooms were connected by a bridge. That’s about as close as I want to be to someone.”
The feature also explores Morris’ evolving relationship with country music. Once a staple of the Nashville scene, she explains that her departure from the genre isn’t about the sound but about the structure. “Country music is not a classroom that you just leave. It’s a family. It’s a sound. It’s a feeling. It’s an emotion… It was about: ‘Do I want to put my life’s work in the hands of some of these gatekeepers of mainstream country music?’”
She also weighed in on country music’s recent trend toward crossover appeal. “I think people like cosplaying at it or doing it because it’s trendy… That’s never been me. You can Google my history very easily and find articles from the Star-Telegram when I was 10, and you’ll see the same little girl playing the guitar, singing country music.”
One of the most personal revelations in the story is Morris’ decision to come out as bisexual. “I’ve always known that I am attracted to men and women,” she shares. “Especially in a time where you’re in this free-for-all post-divorce reckoning, community has been so necessary for me and life-saving.” Coming out, she says, was about connection. “Being honest and being vulnerable is the only way that you find community.”
Throughout the interview, Morris finds moments of humor in the turbulence. “You have to be able to laugh at the sad tragedies of life — to know that everything ends and it’s out of your control.” Her goals for the rest of the year reflect her commitment to staying grounded. “Not caving into myself… You have to not just UberEats all your meals. You have to go be a person.”
Looking to role models like Sheryl Crow, Morris finds reassurance in the long game. “It’s just so nice to know mothers that have gone through this and made it out the other side… Their kids are happy, and they’re friends with their exes, and they have family dinners. I’m getting into that space now, which is so much more peaceful.”
Crow, a longtime friend and admirer, praises Morris’ authenticity: “Maren Morris is one of my favorite people and what an amazingly authentic artist she is. She is in real life who she is in her music… She is always searching and asking the hard questions and trying to make sense of them for all of us.”
As Morris prepares to share ‘Dreamsicle' with the world, she does so from a place of transformation—vulnerable, self-assured, and unafraid to be fully seen.
