Dumb Blonde - Carly Pearce: Health Scares, Heartbreak & Honesty

Episode Date: August 25, 2025

Country star Carly Pearce gets real about her journey—from her fast rise with Every Little Thing to the heartbreak behind 29. She opens up about anxiety, OCD, divorce, losing producer Busbee, and the challenges of being a woman in country music, all while celebrating her induction into the Grand Ole Opry.Carly also shares her health battle with recurrent pericarditis, how she learned to advocate for herself, and how her new album Hummingbird marks both healing and a return to traditional country roots. Plus, she talks love, resilience, and why authenticity has been the key to it all.Carly Pearce: WebsiteWatch Full Episodes & More:www.dumbblondeunrated.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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We have the Bunny X-O show. We have Meet the DeFords. We have popaganda. We have more shows that we're adding. And not to mention, we have the visuals of the podcast. Not only that, we have four tiers that caters to everybody's budget and everybody gets the podcast. There's no more excuses.

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If I could, I would literally make out with each and every one of you. I love you guys so much. And that's a lot of kisses, actually. Gotta go by. is this thing on what's up babies welcome to another episode of dumb blonde today i got my girl carly pierce finally here baby finally i'm so excited to be here i am stoked you're here i feel like you're this polarizing figure online and people are pretty obsessed with you that's good good or bad i guess i mean i it's it always goes both ways because some people you know the thing is

is, is like, when they're obsessed with you, it's either they love to hate you or they hate to love you. There's no in between. It's just black or white, one or the other, but I got to discover a lot of things about you that I didn't know. And I actually was like, this is just a downhome girl from Kentucky who doesn't take any shit. Yeah. And stands up for what's right. Yeah. And I think if people really got to note, like, I can't talk today, words. Golly. And I think if people really got to know your story, they would just fall in love with you the same way that I did. That's so nice. I can't wait to dive into that, but how's your finger?

Oh my God. Have you seen, like, media, I know that you know better than anybody, they will blow up something for a clickbait all day. So the short answer is I was on stage the other night and I had to get two stitches in my thumb because I broke like a piece of glass from a ranch dressing bottle on my hand. But it was like really dramatic because they made me right over to the hospital. in an ambulance to go to the ER. And so all these, like, outlets are like,

Carly Pierce rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for hurt thumb. I'm like, no, I literally just have two stitches. So it's fine. I mean, but two stitches is kind of a big deal. I've never had stitches in my life. It's pretty, it's like inconvenient. And it was just a gross experience because I could, like, feel them, like, sewing my skin together.

What happened? So it just, like, cut the skin open? Yeah, I went to open a ranch dressing that was a glass bottle, and it just cut. And immediately I looked at my fiddle player, was like, oh my God, it's not good, it's not good. Girl, how fucking buff are you? You're breaking fucking glass bottles of ranch.

I know, everybody's like, it was wine, right? You're like, no, it was ranch. It was literally a ranch bottle. But it's fine. I get them out tomorrow, so. Are you a wine drinker? Yes. Red or white?

I like both, but red for sure. Have you ever had a moment where you're drinking red wine and you're just smile and your teeth are all black? My bass player always says he knows it's bad when my lips turn purple. Oh, no. Yeah. Yeah. I've been known to have purple teeth.

Yeah. No, I tried to have a sexy night in Hawaii with my husband one time and we're not wine drinkers and we drank red wine. And let me tell you, I caught a glimpse of myself being hot in the mirror and I looked like I was missing teeth. I will never do it again. I was like, holy shit, how do people do this? Mine like gets like in my lip too.

Like it's disgusting. Yeah. No, I think if you're a red wine drinker, that is a choice. Yeah, you've got to do it right. You've got to at least pay attention. True dedication. Totally. So I want to ask you a couple of rapid fire questions to just kind of open this up.

And then we're going to get into some of your history here. Love it. All right. So the first segment is going to be on love and dating. What is a first date red flag? Ooh, a first date red flag. If they don't ask you any questions about you. Right?

And they only talk about themselves. They only talk about themselves and they're not interested at all in like anything about you, red flag. I couldn't agree more. That actually happened to Monica, one of my best friends. The other day, she went out with some guy on Bumble. and literally this man did not ask her one question about herself. Nope.

Out done. And I got to be honest, I'm old school. Like, a guy should pay on the first date. Just the first. I agree. I feel really strongly about that. I agree, especially if they ask you out. Yes.

Yes. Definitely. And then, you know, if you guys want to go, what is it, Dutch? Yeah. Or split it or 50-50, then figure that out. Yes. Definitely think the first date, yes, for sure. All right.

What's the worst pickup line you've ever heard? Oh, God. She said, oh, God. I feel like anybody I had a guy say to me are you seeing anybody this actually happened not that long ago so he says are you seeing anybody and then the next line was not that I would care either way

and I was just like you're disgusting like that was for real not that I would care either way that's disgusting to me the ego though yeah it's like like he even just thought he had a chance no matter what yeah he never got a text back Do people DM you stuff like that all the time? Honestly, no. I don't get, like, a lot of really weird stuff.

Like, I feel like, I don't know. I feel lucky that I don't get a lot of weird stuff. You don't get, like, your eye poked out or anything like that. None of that. I've had some weird, like, fan messages. Yeah. But I feel like, but, yeah, like, and this is somebody that's, like, successful. I'm like, you're just, like, no.

Yeah. Who's one of the craziest people that have DM'd you? Can you, like, give us a hint that you could never have believed would DM you romantically or not we'll make it i would say i'm not going to say who i'll tell you after okay i'll say back when i first started like when every little thing was hitting yeah a very very famous football player dm to me and i thought it was like a joke and we like face time some but it never did you want to take you on a date yes and i was like look at you girl look at you getting your back on but now not anymore yeah she's like absolutely no no no

no all right what's more dangerous falling in love or falling on stage falling in love for sure yeah i've fallen on stage several times so yeah i've seen yeah you poor baby yeah are you just accident prone yeah can you tell like my stitches i know i think i just like don't know my size because like i'm just lanky and yeah but falling on stage is pretty it's pretty awful too but speaking of your size, you said, I think, in an interview that you have been 5-7 since, like, fifth grade, that's insane. She has on a Shrek shirt, and it literally, like, gave me PTSD because Shrek came out when I was, like, in middle school, and that was my nickname.

Oh. Not even get, like, when I saw it, I was like, triggered. Oh, no. Oh, my God. Oger, Shrek, not Fiona. Not like Shrek's wife, Shrek. It's because you're so tall, though. I was so tall.

Thank you. was this tall when I was in fifth grade. So did you just like have a growth spurt? Yep. And then you just haven't grown since. Yeah. I mean, I wear like a size 10 and a half shoe. Most men have the same I have like bigger hands than most guys. Like it's just been it's been a journey. I'm five seven. Are you? Yeah. I know. I guess like just when I don't feel that tall anymore. But like I guess in fifth grade it was like, but Shrek that's triggering. That is so funny. I remember I saw you at an award show and this is before we knew you. Do you guys remember when we saw her backstage and you were dressed in like, black right and you're just walking and you literally look like you're floating and we were all

just like there was carly like it was just like you had this aura to you that it was just like so stevie nix like it was crazy yeah and i just i was like i wanted to say hi but at the same time it was kind of like intimidated oh my god yeah and then now that i've gotten to know you and like see how you are i was like i should have just said hi yes definitely yeah no you're you're very polarizing all right last question what was your celebrity crush growing up oh lance bass really yeah yeah before he was gay before i was like before we knew he was gay well yeah um lance bass for sure he was always like my favorite i loved in sync i feel like everybody loved lance and then i remember i used to hang out at the palms all the time because i was dating a certain someone that

owned it and lance and all them were there one night and i just remember he never looked at any females and i looked at my friend and i was like he's not into females uh-huh and then it came out know a couple months later that he's not into females he looks so good though like yeah i've i've seen him several times and met him at stage coach and i was like you are so hot like he's living his best looks great and he looks so sweet he's the sweetest he loves country music i'm like what i love that i wonder why he doesn't do country music i know i know so tell me if this is wrong or not because this was a crazy um little tidbit that i found on you you play bagpipes bagpipes it's what it says It says she plays some unexpected instruments like bagpipes in addition to singing guitar.

No, it does not. Where does it say that? And mandolin, I'll have to pull it up because I had a feeling. I was like, I don't know if this is true or not, but so it's not. No, but I'm wondering, I used to yodel like I was like known for yodeling. Stop it right now. Like won some contests. Stop it right now.

Yodel for us, Carly, please. It's like a whole thing. I haven't tried to do it. But if you notice in my voice, like I do like a flip and. to my falsetta, and I think that came from yodeling. Dude, we love yodeling. I'm a little bit like bagpipes yodeling. I think it's the same thing.

Same thing. Totally. It's the same thing. It's fine. Oh, my God. You can't yodel for us. Please give us a little yoddle. I would be so, we'll cut it.

If it sucks, we'll cut it. I can't do it. It's been like 20 years since I did it. Okay, so when did you discover that you could yodel? I loved Leanne Rhymes as a kid. Yeah, blue. Yes. And then she had a version of an old song called Cowboy Sweetheart.

that I was obsessed with, and I'd never heard anybody do that with their voice. And so my mom always says, like, the worst part of her journey was me trying to sing Broken Wing by Martina McBride in my bedroom because I could not belt that loud in that high. And when I was learning how to yodel, she said it was, like, horrendous. But that's like I wanted to be like Leanne so bad. I love that. That's like a hidden talent. Are there any more hidden talents you have?

Double join it. Are you double join it? I was not to say I'm really, like, it's not good. That is so crazy. It's really bad. Do you guys see that? Look at me, me, me. It's really bad. Oh my God. Is that the only joint that does that or can you do that with like your knees too? It's only. It's only my arms. And I never even realized it until in school when I was like raising my hand. People were like, what the fuck? Oh, you poor thing. We're calling you Shrek. You're double jointed. It's fucked up. It's honestly been a, it's been a journey for me. Like so much therapy. Yeah. Stop it. Do you feel like you were bullied at all as a child because of that? Yes, I was, well, growing up, country music was not what it is today. Yeah. So I loved country music from the time I was like in elementary school and I felt really

out of place like being a creative person and being somebody that just wanted to sing and like I always felt just different because I loved country music and I loved bluegrass music and I loved performing and I wanted to be in theater and I wanted to sing with all these different bands growing up in Kentucky. And so I always felt like I had a lot of friends, but I was very bold. lead for like loving country music and now I'm like even growing up in Kentucky yes it just wasn't what the hell were they listening to I have I it was not the cool thing when I was growing up it was like almost I I would feel like embarrassed because I loved it so much yeah how old are you

35 okay so you're 35 okay so you're 10 years younger than me so that they would probably that would have been like what the pop era yes growing up so it was like pop yeah's like Britney and and sync and all that stuff um and so I just and I loved that too but people just didn't understand. And that's why I think I have such like a passion for young kids in school that maybe don't academically feel like that's their path and they want to be creative.

It's like you have to have a space for that because there's so many kids that feel like me that just were like, wait, I'm not like fitting in socially. Yes. I couldn't agree with that more. Our daughter is a creative and it's been, but she's also so freaking smart. Yeah. So it's like, you know, Jay battles with letting her be

creative but also be studious at the same time. How did you convince your parents to let you homeschool? How old were you? When I tell this story now, it's like what I have no idea what they were thinking. I was really good in school as well. So I was like a very disciplined kid. So I think that they knew I wasn't running from school. And I saw an audition to sing in the country show at Dollywood when I was 15. Yeah. In our like local Cincinnati, I live right outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. in the inquire. It's like, ooh, auditions. And I'm like, Dolly Parton, I would love to sing at Dollywood. Hey, can I, can I do this? And they're like, no. And so I took the summer to find a homeschooling program that wouldn't require any attention from my mom because my mom was

like, I don't know how to teach you. And so it was like an online kind of like college, but for high school. And I just kind of presented this to them. And I'm an only child. And they were like, okay, let's do it. And so I audition. And you just think about the sacrifices that your family make for you. And for me, my parents were married and they still are married, but they sacrificed, like my mom lived with me in Pige and Forge. My dad stayed back in Kentucky and took care of my grandfather that was sick at the time. And I mean, I don't know. I just feel like I got such a head start being able to go and perform and kind of have that regimented like grueling schedule of shows. Yeah. No, that's crazy to take on. And how old were you? 14, 15?

16. 16. It's crazy. So to be that headstrong to go and seek out. the um homeschooling that you were going to do and then to go and work these shows because you were doing what four shows a day or five shows a day? I was doing six shows a day five days a week and you know just as a kid I think it just really solidified for me yeah what I wanted to do because it just taught me like how to sing sick how to how to do a show and you don't feel like it how to work hard yeah you know yeah do you think that that's maybe a trauma response like maybe because of something that could have happened in your childhood, or even the bullying at school, you're like, you know what, I'm going to do this because I'm not going back to class.

I think I was so determined to prove everyone wrong and really to prove to myself that I could do it. And so I feel like my, from the time I was tiny, tiny, I knew that that's what I wanted to do. And it was just kind of like, no matter how difficult, because it was even after that, Like I spent almost 10 years in Nashville before I ever, quote unquote, made it. But I just was like, no, like I am absolutely going to do this. I think it's amazing that you look up to Dolly as much as I do because obviously I named my podcast, I'm blonde after her song, her first song on the radio. And then to see the tie that you guys have together, do you feel like she's really just

shaped and molded your career for you? In more ways than just, obviously, like as a songwriter, you think about, you know, She wrote Jolene and I Will Always Love You in the same day. It's like two of the most iconic songs in history. So like as a songwriter and as a singer for sure. But more than that, I think what I admire about her, she's what, in her late 70s? And she's still reinventing her brand and gaining fans

and just trying to push the envelope. And I've gotten to work with her a few times and I'm sure that you know this. It's like she is just so focused and so on her shit in everything. she does to where it's just like she doesn't have to right but she's so determined to not be stagnant and that is just something that i really there's very few people that continue to do that decade after decade like she does this show is sponsored by liquid iv i'm clinging to summer

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know I sent you. Select podcast in the survey and be sure to select Dumb Blonde podcast and the drop-down menu that follows. I love the way you said that that she refuses to be stagnant. Yeah. Like that's really I think you could just quit. You do that too though. I do that too though. Exactly. I think a lot of people can relate to that phrase right there. Yeah. Yeah. And she's crazy. Like we went to go see Doll. at her little compound compound yeah I love her compound it's not little guys yeah and she literally is just like on it like everything is timed and like she just it she cracks the whip over there she does and it's so admirable yeah and she's just this tiny little thing is so sweet and she's sassy she's so sassy yeah I tell everybody I'm like you guys think dolly's a sweet little lady I was like she is sassy

and a spitfire she's I when she we went to her compound um I thought I was doing a commercial commercial for Dollywood. Yeah. And she surprised me and invited me to be a member of the Opry a few years ago. And literally it was like, like you're saying like this, this, this. I mean, she had a schedule. Like we had a few moments. She handed me some of her new perfume and she was like, you're my little

Dollywood girl and she was out onto the next thing. Yeah. Just like no BS. Yeah. It's like she leaves enough to where it's like you love her and that you want more. Yes. Because you get, you only get those that little bit of time with her. But she's, and but those moments count so much because it's just, she's so full

a soul. It's crazy. Yeah. Take me on the journey of picking out your name, Carly Pierce, because I want to know some of the names that you were thinking about doing before you settled on Carly Pierce. So my legal last name is Carly Slusser, horrible name for a country singer. And when I was like 14, my mom, you know, she would take my pictures and we'd go to Staples and get the CDs printed so that we could pass them out. And so my name, my middle. name is Christine. So for a long time, I was Carly Christine, you know, because that felt right. And then my grandparents, my mom's maiden name is Pierce. And they were super influential in my life.

They were the ones that kind of shaped my love of country music. My grandpa, way back in the day, used to ride the school bus with Skeeter Davis of the Davis sisters. And that was like his girlfriend for a little bit of time. And she was, you know, like a country music artist and somebody that's been influential. And my grandma loved Loretta Lund. She loved Tammy Wynette. So that was always in the home. And when they figured out that I loved country music, they kind of taught me what the opera was. And my grandpa would buy me these CD decades of all the different eras of country music. And he just really wanted me to understand who came before me. And so they both, my grandma passed away when I was 14. My grandpa passed away when I was 18. And they knew that my life dream was to sing

on the Opry. And when I was 18, I went to see my grandpa for the last time when he's in the hospital. And he knew I was taking a meeting in Nashville. And he was like, you're going to be late. You got to go. You got to go. And they just, I wanted to honor them in some way. So although it's not my legal last name, it feels so important. And now when I go back to the area where we all lived and where I feel like my whole love of country music started, the signs that the signs that that say, home of Carly Pierce, and it's like their name is carrying on into country music history, which I'm the only grandchild. And it's just like a really special thing for me that continues to just keep them alive for me.

And I get to talk about them. And again, like all these years later, it's like they still live on. I love that. Yeah. I think that is so sweet. I love how your family just kind of gathered around you and was like, this is your dream. We're going to help you make it. They totally did.

I love that. Because not a lot of families are like that. to be able to see where you are now. I mean, does your mom ever just look at you and be like, I knew this was going to happen or can she not believe it? She has like moments of both, but she'll tell you, I mean, she convinced a vocal coach when I was six. She's like, I'm telling you, like, she has great pitch and she's got rhythm. She told me like, as a baby, I would like keep the beat in my car seat. She just said she knew. And so she's always like, I mean, I'm not really surprised, which is funny just to hear her, but she had unwavering belief that this was going to happen for me.

I love that so much for you. Do you ever feel, do you ever look back on your childhood and feel like you didn't get to do like normal childhood things because you were working so much? No. And I say that only because when I left, so I left when I was 16, I still went back for prom. I went back for my graduation.

You know, yes, did I, I didn't graduate with my class. But I always say, like, I had a wonderful childhood. I had a lot of friends. They would come visit me in Pige and Forge when I was working at Dollywood. How fun, though, right? It was, I mean, and they loved it. Like, it was super fun. I think I've always felt like if, if, like, my middle school and high school college years were the best years of my life, that's not probably a good sign for me personally.

Like, I didn't want that to be, like, the greatest season of my life. Right. So I view it as, like, it was fun, but I don't feel like I missed it. You don't want to be like Al Bundy, reminiscing about your freaking high school? Not at all. I'm not like that at all. I'm like, I loved it, but what I get to do now, it was like a trade-off. But I still had a lot of normalcy.

But I also got to experience things that like a lot of kids didn't get to experience. Yeah. Working so much, were you able to even have like a rebellious teenage phase? Because I know I went through one, but I didn't work like you did. I couldn't even imagine being under that amount of pressure and like even having time to be rebellious. I wasn't rebellious, really. I had parents that kind of like, if I wanted to say shit, I could say shit. If I wanted to drink, it was like drink in the house.

I love your parents. They're really, I mean, honestly, it made, like, space for me to not have to rebel. Like, a lot of my friends wanted to come over because my parents were, like, understanding. It's not like they were like, here, go out and never, you know, text us or whatever. But when I got to Pigeon Forge, I was 17 and everybody else was, like, in their late 20s. So, you know, I learned, like, what power hour of drinking was. And I learned the hard way of like, because I just never, I never really cared until I, like, got of age because my parents just allowed me to experiment.

Yeah, they were just like, if you, if you want to try it, just try it here. Yeah, they were your safe space. They were. Did you, so you talk about how you, you talk very openly about having anxiety, which I relate to also because I have severe anxiety all the time. When did your anxiety start? Was it in childhood or did that come later in life? this is probably something I haven't really shared.

I've had to understand because I would have told you like three years ago my anxiety started during my divorce in COVID. But I've had crippling OCD since I was a child. So like checking my backpack over and over and over, checking my alarm over and over and making sure that my mom, are you sure that everything's in my bag? Are you sure? And my mom would just try to calm me down

or I would freak out over storms. And I remember her taking me to the local library to meet a meteorologist to try to calm that. So I've had to, I've had anxiety my whole life. I still struggle with OCD. I think it just really came to ahead of me wanting to do something about it during COVID. Yes.

Sometimes it becomes so debilitating. You don't have a choice but to face it head on. We can run from it as long as we want to. And I tell, I preach this on my part. because we talk about mental health hair very openly. I literally ran from my anxiety, my OCD, all that. I never had depression. I always had anxiety. I never had depression, always had anxiety. But in 2019, after I had my implants removed, I got hit with the worst suicidal ideation and depression I've ever had in my life. And that was just the time that my body finally said,

you can't run anymore. You know, like you can try to fix it by having surgeries and do this and do that. But if you don't fix what's on the inside and what's really going on in your heart and your soul, it's going to come out in other ways. A thousand percent. And I feel like that was like just the being taken off the road, going through a public divorce, it was like, I think my body just had like a visceral reaction of like, oh my God. And then I, I mean, I can't tell you how many interviews I sat through trying so hard to just like keep myself together after like. I mean, it's been like a journey for me.

I'm just like, oh my God, can anybody tell? Can anybody tell? And everybody's like, no, we can't tell at all. And I'm like dying inside because it was so, I felt like I was trapped in my own body. I have never felt so seen. There are so many podcasts that I've done where I've had to sit here. Like, sometimes you'll see me if you watch any of my podcasts and I'll hold my breath and then I'll breathe out. And I'm literally doing box breathing while I'm doing an interview because I'm having a panic attack, you know? And I don't think people understand that because we don't react on the outside. We hold it all inside. Like there's, my husband will be like, you handle the that's so great.

And I'm like, I did. That's me. Because literally in my head, I'm freaking the fuck out, you know? And it's just that it just goes to show that you can't judge people from the outside because you never know what's going on inside. You really don't. Mine was always in interviews. Now everybody's going to know, but it's like, like I would clear my throat because I just feel like I can't breathe.

Yes. And it's interesting to be, and I know you understand, like in the public eye, when the camera's on. It's like you better shut it down. And I think that I got really conditioned over the last 10 years to just zip it up and deal with it. And it just kind of got to a place where a couple years ago I just had to really start back into therapy, start really like trying to figure out all of these different things. Like recognizing OCD was something. No, that didn't come in 2020. That's been there since I was six or seven. Yeah. Where do you think that stems from for you? you like the OCD. I know mine was a traumatic childhood. I had a terrible family life.

Yeah. You seem to have the opposite. Where do you think yours stems from? I had a mom and she's still like this to this day. She's the best, but she's a perfectionist. So like as a child, I would watch her, I had like Barbie shoes. This is like a core memory. And she wanted to put every individual pair of Barbie shoes in the perfect little spot and keep everything. You know, so I learned she never left the house without her makeup on. She was always just so put together that I think that perfectionism just became not intent. She didn't mean to do that to me. It wasn't like she was like, you have to be this way.

But I watched and led by example. So then I wanted to have everything perfect. Yep. You internalized that pressure. And, you know, she was just being herself. Yes. And you just, you wanted to be like your mom. So you wanted to be perfect.

And oh my gosh. But I love that you recognize. that. I love that you've gotten help for that because it's, I preach therapy on this podcast left and right because it is so important. I mean, even just, if you can't afford therapy, just talking to people or there's so many resources that are online now also that you can teach yourself and learn, even just meditation and box breathing like we just talked about. Anything like that can help soothe that. So moving on to you move in to Nashville. You moved to Nashville at age 19 and signed a development deal

with Sony in 2012. And you lost that when your producer was fired, so you started cleaning Airbnb's. Yep. What is one of the grossest situations you've ever had to deal with with Airbnbs? I have two things. Hair. Like even my

own hair like on my bathroom floor really grosses me out or like when it's on the shower wall. Other people's hair that I don't know who they are. And you don't know where it came from. Yeah. But the worst. I'll throw up. Stains. stains. Oh, God.

It's like anywhere on the sheets. No. You know, and I'm like 22, just like wanting to die. Oh, God. Especially have an OCD. Oh, yeah. It probably got worse after that. Yeah.

Oh, my God. Yes. I wouldn't be able to. I'd have to literally have gloves on in a hazmat suit. There's no fucking way. It was a lot. Because I have contamination OCD too. So if like I touch anything, I have to count down for an hour and like wait to make sure that

I'm not going to overdose on fentanyl because. Because, you know, who knows, somebody might have snorted a rail of it and all off the bathroom stall or something, you know? Yes. Yes. It was disgusting. Yeah, that would freak me out so much. So take me on this journey of you being 19, moving to Nashville.

Did you come by yourself or was your mom with you? My parents ended up moving north of town. And again, like just the sacrifices. So they move so that I didn't have to work super hard. But again, like that perfectionist in me, I was like, no, I'm not just going to live rent free. like I'm going to do the thing. So I worked retail.

I cleaned Airbnbs. I did all this stuff. So they came with me. And it's so crazy the things that you think at the time. I was so heartbroken at 19 thinking, how could this not be the time for me? I got a developmental deal pretty quickly and got to record with like my dream producer. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is so exciting.

but at that time, female artists were like non-existent. It was like in the bro-country time, you were almost like penalized if you were a female. Right. So I almost feel like I was protected to not be released. Like there are so many girls that I remember, like nobody knows who they are now. Right.

Because they came out in a time where it just like, so much of this life is like, yes, it's the right song. Yes, it's the right timing. But there is like a luck of the draw to this, like in my opinion. Like you have to catch fire in a certain moment. And it's like, there's no rhyme or reason why some of us are chosen to be able to do this and not. Because there's so many talented people here. Like, it's crazy.

And so when I lost it, I think my journey, like the biggest thing that has happened is I was just relentless. Like, I went to fight or flight. I was like, absolutely not. You relentless? I'd highly doubt that. I was like, I'm going to, like, this is not an option. I have to do this. You seem so tenacious.

And, like, you just know what you. want. And I knew that it was what I was supposed to do. And even in the moments where like it was dark, I would get a text or an email or somebody would want to meet with me or all these different things. Even if it was just like one little thing like, hey, I have a right tomorrow. Do you want to jump in as a third? Like just these little light moments that made me like, no, I should keep going. Yeah, like never give up. It was God. It was literally God. Like saying like, please don't Absolutely God. And so I go and I do all these different things and I'm playing shows and I took a job

as a backup singer for Lucy Hale. She was singing country music for a little bit. And even that like introduced me to a whole slew of fans back when like Instagram was starting and all these different little connecting moments. How did it feel being a backup singer when you know that you're like main energy, main character energy. I, the biggest, like, moment that I remember from that time, she had a music video on the grandal offrey stage. And I always told myself, I would never step on the opera stage, never in the circle until it was my moment. And we had to perform on the opera stage. And I would

not step in the circle. And I'm just standing there. And it was almost like the, um, that movie was it like, I don't know, something, 50 feet from stardom or whatever that was, where it's like, you're, you're on the stage, but you're so far from the circle. Like, that's how I felt. But I did it. And I was just like, whatever keeps me making music. And for a moment, I remember thinking, like, maybe I'm supposed to be a backup singer. Like, some of my favorite voices are backup singers. And I'm like, maybe that's what I'm supposed to do. And I met a producer named Busby. And he changed my life along with a publisher in town that I still work with, Daniel Lee. We wrote every little thing and made like a five,

song EP, took it around to labels, no one cared. Took it to managers, no one cared. I mean, when I tell you, like, not one person cared. And it's truly like part of my mission for young artists and just young people with a dream is to like understand that. Like, no one thought that that song was a hit. Right. Except for at the time, Sirius X in the highway was like the thing. It was like the TikTok, you know? It's like everybody wanted to get play. on the highway. And J.R. Schumann, who worked there, he heard every little thing. And this is after, I'm talking like managers in town telling me I wasn't special, people on my team telling me to move home. I had a record label person who still works in the industry, literally look me in the

face and say, you will never be a star. And, you know, those are things I still deal with, like, that imposter syndrome. Like, have you gotten to look that dude in the face again? I'm assuming it was a dude. How you, okay, dude or female? Have you got to look that person in the face and be like, you know, what's fun is I've got to look all of them in the face and I don't have to say anything. And I won't because they don't deserve it. Right. I hope that they learned, don't, you can't do that to people. And I carry that. I mean, truthfully, like when I'm sitting at an award show or I'm sitting when I was female focus of a year, I'm like, oh my gosh, do I belong? Do I belong here? And it's all those years where it was

just like no no no you're not enough you're not enough you're not enough um and jr heard every little thing after everybody else heard it and they didn't think it was special and overnight i'm talking within 12 hours i put that song out alison jones over at big machine um she sent me a DM and i still work with her to this day and she said you have to call me in the morning you found your three minutes and literally the next day it was like i got goosebumps my whole life changed oh and I think it's just so important to remember you never, you just never know when that moment is going to shift. And like my life has never been the same since then.

And it was on the song that was like not the hit. Yeah. Can you tell me about you and Busby's relationship? Because you guys were very close. Yeah. And I remember when he passed, I remember seeing your posts about him and stuff. And my heart just broke for you.

Can we just get a glimpse into you guys's relationship? he so this is when I'm feeling at 25 like I'm old news in town and he was just kind of getting into the country scene he was working with Marin and he was like no I like I want to work with you and he just started writing with me and we started working together and so we started having the success together and he became family when you when you work so closely with these people and you make music with them and you let them into like your brain and, you know, your secrets and the things that you really want to sing about and what you stand for. I feel like in a lot of ways he helped me find my voice, obviously as Carly

Pierce, but also just, like, as a human. Like, he reinforced to me that, like, I was enough. And he was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer. When we were finishing, the last song he ever worked on was, I hope you're happy now. And that's super special for me. But he was diagnosed and died very, very quickly after. But I got to see him, like, days before he passed. And we had this beautiful conversation. And he said to me, he was sitting in his bed, and I'll never forget it. And I think it's so important for people that have success to understand this.

He said, he looked at his clock, and he was like, you see that right there? And I was like, yeah. And he said, I can buy anything in the world except the one thing that I need and that's time. When I started this podcast, it was just me and Mimi figuring it out as we went. We were wearing all the hats, editing, marketing, scheduling. It was exciting, but honestly, overwhelming and kind of lonely at times. If we had Shopify back then, it would have saved us so many freaking headaches. It's like having a business partner that actually knows what they're doing,

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you're ready for Shopify. Turn your big business idea into to Ching with Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash bunny go to shopify.com slash bunny again shopify.com slash bunny and in so many ways I feel like he's he told me that day he was like I just want you to fly and I want you to know you can and I mean I've been working on a lot of new music and I feel like that voice has been in my head because it's not been, you know, an easy, even like getting to this place in your career. It's like there's ups and downs and like it's tough. But I think remembering why I started this in the first place and the dream that I had as a kid has continued to make me understand I can fly and I can do this and make music because of that girl that was growing up in Taylor Mo Kentucky. Like, and he's, he's that voice in my head. And I get like signs from him a lot.

lot like I know he's around yeah um but it's it's been a really special thing and honestly like i wrote a song for him called show me around and like that has continued to make his presence live on and i've gotten to talk about him and just see so many people relate to that song and um like his legacy lives on i really respect your loyalty to people who made you feel good in times where you didn't feel good yeah like you know like your grandma and your grandpa believing in you and the busby coming along do you think that busby also inspired you to start producing yourself, because I noticed that you did start producing after he passed. Yeah, I think he helped me trust myself and, like, trust my instinct. And again, like,

he knew I struggled with me feeling confident. And it's funny, like, you talk about, like, people either like, really love you or they really hate you. I feel like a lot of times people have said, oh, Carly's not very nice. And it's like, it's not that I'm not very nice. like painfully shy at my core and like kind of want to be in the room and like don't really want you to look at me not because I'm a bitch because I'm just like really shy and like struggle with that confidence and really the only time that I feel alive is when I'm on stage. And I feel like he helped me like really wrestle with that and like be honest with myself that I struggled with that and then get more confident and trust myself and trust myself in the studio and trust the kind

music I want to make and not try to chase a trend or not try to do this because it's what's working right now or you know all those different things so I and he was like a very did you ever meet him I don't know I don't know if I did or not love you but he was a very strong personality and like he didn't take any shit and he was like I love that about him like he he was very much like what you see is what you get and I feel like he taught me to like be tough in that yeah I love that I also want to clarify when I said that people either love you or they hate you, I have the same type of fan base. And it's because I tell everybody, because I heard you say in an interview, you said, I'm not nice. And I was like, respect. Because I tell everybody, I'm cool, but I'm not

that cool. Yeah. You know, and I think a lot of, I think, I may choose my words here so I don't get canceled. I think powerful women are forced to shrink themselves down because we have boundaries. But if we don't have boundaries, then we're spyingless and we're weak. Yep. So it's like, which one do you guys want? Do you want somebody who you can look up to that actually does have boundaries and like speaks up for herself and stands up for what's right? Or do you want somebody who coweres down in a corner every time, you know, something happens? Well, and that's why I've, I mean, I slide up on your stories all the time because I find it so refreshing, especially in our business where the women in the South, because we sing country music and we love Jesus, we have to shut up, take it. And I've been guilty of it. And I just think you have brought so much, like, realness to that. And that's why I'm always like, yes. And I laugh at you because I'm like, do you know how much I want to say that?

No, I'm just like, it's so, it's like, why should you have to allow that, you know? Like that kind of energy and like whoever's sitting behind a freaking computer, it's like, it says so much more about you than, and I just love it. I love, I love watching you, like, stand up for yourself. that you stand up too and you stand up to bullies and you stand up to men who are treating you wrong and like I love that about you like never stop doing that no matter what anybody says I don't fucking care yeah like we need I call all my crew that I hang out with I call us a coven because it's not because it's witchcraft or anything like that but a coven is a bunch of powerful

women who stand together and I feel like um I do feel like country music does make women shrink down and I married a rapper guys you know and to me he's always going to be rapper role And to you guys, he's jelly, but, and I get that. And we love that daddy's grown and, you know, he's who he is now. But I don't, I don't feel like I have to shrink down just because my husband's a country artist, you know. And I mean, I do watch what I say because there are a lot of shit. There is a lot of things that I say that get made into news articles. And sometimes I'm like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that, you know.

But life's short. You have to say it. And I love the fact that you do stand up for yourself. So don't ever feel like you have to always explain, you know, like, I'm shy or I have this or like, own it, baby, you know, you have boundaries and you know what you want in life, you know, so moving on. Let's talk about this, um, every little thing song that your song, every little thing that came out in 2017. What was that like when it started taking off for you? Like what were you feeling? Tell me what Carly was and who you were in that moment.

I mean, when I tell you, I was like crying on the couch of my publisher the week before. it went out on the highway being like, oh, my God, it's a heartbreak valid. Like, nobody's ever going to care. This is my last chance. And he's like, it's fine. Like, just let him play it. And then we'll get on to the next song. It was selling at the time, like outselling every song on iTunes as an independent artist.

Sold 500K and helped launch her debut album, Top 5 on country charts. Yeah, it was like, I think there's only, at the time, it was like in the last decade, three female artists that their solo debut went to number one. It's now multi-platinum. I think what it did is it solidified my artistry. That's the song that broke me. So it's been a really fun thing for me to remember. Artistically, that song was the exception to the rule.

It was a heartbreak ballad in the middle of summer, very little production, in a world where it was very male-driven and very bro-country, if you will. And I just, you know, I remember it happened so fast. It was just like a rocket. I was just trying to hold on. That's amazing. Brooks and Dunn just did an interview, I believe, with Theo Vaughn.

And in the clip, they talk about how competitive country music is. And at first, I was kind of like, I don't know if that's true or not, but I'm also not an artist. Do you feel like country music is competitive? or do you also feel like they cater to the men more than they do the women? So many thoughts. What I struggle with is I always say I feel like, now, this is the best I've ever seen. Like the female artists right now are, like, I listen to them. Yeah.

You know, like in my free time, I'm listening to these. Who's some of your favorite artists really quick. I think Ella, Lainley, is a superstar. Babe. I think Lainey has been the best thing to happen to female country music in the last 20 years. I love, like, new female artists, like Carter Faith. I think she's going to be a big star. I obviously am super close to Kelsey.

I love what Casey stands for. Megan Maroni, like, I don't know that we've had a girl be able to have ticket sales like she's having right now. You know, she's got a cult following that reminds me of Taylor Swift. What is hard is if you are not part of the five, you can feel left out. It's almost like there's only room for the few. And I hope because right now I do feel like we have an abundance of amazing female artists that we're starting to see that shift. Because for me, growing up, like the 90s, the females ruled.

And I think what's difficult is you see so many male artists. I always call them faceless number ones because it's like, I couldn't tell you who so many of them are on the radio because they all just are kind of interchangeable. A lot of them sound the same too. They sound the same. But then you know, you've got Cody and Chris Stapleton and jelly

and it's like those are the ones that really have a brand, but it's almost like the females have to, they just have to be so much more branded. But I do think like you can differentiate every single one of us on the radio, which I think is really a special thing. But I mean, it's just hard. I think it's harder for women, but I think the women hit much bigger.

Like they can really, like, their artistry is just really, like, defined. Yeah, they can hold their own. You guys can hold your own up against the men. I feel like women are dominating country music right now. I mean, it's the most excited I've ever been. Yeah. Let's keep it here for a while.

So moving on from that, in 2020, Or wait, 2019, you met, you meet Michael Ray. Can we talk about this for a little bit? Where did you guys meet? How did you guys, you know, even start this world, Razor Blade romance? You want to talk about the most whirlwind. We knew each other. We had played shows together, but like Instagram.

Right. And I- Did he slide in the DMs? I think I did. I'm going to be honest. Like, I did. I thought he was so cute. I had heard like, he's the nicest guy in the world. and I invited him to my number one party for every little thing.

And I mean, it was just, it was a very, looking back on it, it was just a very, very hot and heavy, like, lust. It wasn't love. Passion. Yeah, it was just passionate. So you guys meet and I'm sorry, I misquoted, you guys met in 2018, right? 2018.

Okay, so you guys met in 2018, and then you guys were married in 2019. So take me on that job. journey of like dating and then deciding to get married so early because I you know I understand it my husband and I got married a month after we were together yes and now we're going on almost we're going on nine years this month 10 years knowing each other well see it can happen so I think in my brain that's what I thought yeah I thought and you know at the time his career was was rising and honestly like he was he was more successful than me and and when our relationship started it was like oh this is so exciting i think we both got caught up in that like oh everybody's so

excited about this but i i mean genuinely i got married to go the distance i absolutely did when i married him it was for the right reasons i think that when you travel like this and i thought i was doing the right thing by like waiting to to get married till i was 29 but we didn't have like real conversations and we we didn't really know about each other and we were kind of living this life that wasn't really reality now looking back on it right so I just think we didn't really know each other you guys were just in it in the moment we're in it um and you know I knew I knew the night I got married I shouldn't have right if I'm being completely honest with you um I think the best thing that ever happened to me was COVID because it allowed me to deal with that in private I

think that I probably would have stayed in it longer if I could have avoided it and not had to I was embarrassed when it happened, you know, of course. And I had shame around that and was heartbroken. But I think if I had to do that in front of people, I would have, I would have prolonged that relationship longer. Was there one thing that separated you guys or was it, was there just like, what was the final breaking point for you to be like, you know what, I'm filing for divorce? Because you're the one that filed for divorce. I did. Um, it wasn't what I signed up for. Right.

It just wasn't the marriage that I know I deserved. Um, I knew that very quickly. And I think in the first, we were only married for eight months. Mm-hmm. Plenty happened to where it was very clear to me. This was not, this just wasn't a marriage. Right. Was there ever any infidelity?

or anything that would make you question his love for you? Because, you know, there's so many rumors, and I have to ask. Yeah, of course. There's so many rumors that have... You know, what he didn't do wasn't written just out of thin air. The album 29 wasn't, you know, written out of like, yeah, I mean, it wasn't good. It wasn't good. And I, I've always, you know, what's been so hard is everybody has a different opinion.

Right. And I think what I've been able to do is, you know, what I've been able to do is, you know, I've always, you know, do. I am in the happiest season of my life. I'm actually, if I ever saw him, if he ever watches this, thank you. Because you taught me more about myself. You taught me how strong I am. You put me through things that have made me better now. And I don't wish him evil. I don't wish anything on him. I'm so glad that I'm not in that anymore. Right. But, I think I was really shown just how much I care about me, you know? Like, I actually really have a lot of self-worth.

And that showed me that. Yeah. So it just, that wasn't it? And what's been hard, what I was going to say is people have all their opinions. And at first, that was so hard for me. Because I was like, that's not true. That's not true. What he's saying isn't true.

but at the end of the day like my friends who walked that with me they know my parents know and god knows and that is enough it's enough i love that i think one of the things that might have speculated the infidelity rumors was this whole situation kind of got a lot of traction is that true is she jolline yeah let's just say i'm not a fan of her yeah i'm not a fan of her i'm not a fan of her i'm not a fan of him um i could have i could have done so much more than i did i can see the rage in you when this gets brought up yeah it's tough um you know it's tough to think that it's just like just leave me instead um and that that yeah i think to your point i shut my mouth for so long yeah are you dying

He's over there, but cheeks clenched. But, you know, I mean, but truthfully, like, I shut my mouth for so long because I felt like I had to. And I'm not here to blow anybody up or, like, I don't care anymore. But, yeah, I mean, when you're faced with somebody that was a really dark season for you, and then they go and blow it up on the internet, like, it's just like. Yeah, her response was kind of icky. But, you know, also you go, I don't know if he told her we were divorced. I don't know.

I don't know. All I know is, yeah, that wasn't, that was not a fun situation for me. And I think what's harder is you want somebody at the end of it to just look you in the eye and be like, yeah, I did this. But I never got any of that. And so it's like I had to piece together a lot of things after the fact. but they were facts. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I told my daughter this a couple days ago,

and it's one of the best quotes I've ever heard, but do not set yourself on fire to keep others warm. No. That's so good. Yeah, you can't do it, man, because it will just eat you inside. And the rage that I saw in your eyes when you started talking about that,

like that's a woman that's been hurt. That's not a woman who's being petty. That's not a woman who's trying to start drama. That's a woman who is hurt. Well, and that's what's so hard is, like, people don't think you're a real human being. when you have a microphone or you have a platform or you have like a public name. Yeah, you have to be stone face.

They want you to have no emotions. Yeah, and it's like, yeah, I did have a visceral reaction to what she said. And I did have a reaction when she was sitting in the audience when I'm singing this song. Like, of course I did because I'm a girl who got hurt. And that at the end of the day, that's what it was. And it's like if people aren't able to see that, like me as a human being, that's on them. Like, yes, I can't. I'm, I'm, to the place in this, like, a decade in where I'm like, I can't do everything perfect.

Like, I'm a girl. Like, I'm carly. And like, I'm just a girl. I'm just a freaking girl. Like, and I'm sorry, but I get pissed off. And like, I get hurt and I lash out and like, yeah. And that's okay. And that's okay.

Yeah, it's hard. Sister, we are here for you. And listen, this is a safe space. I'm pissed off all the time. I'm ranting and raving about something. Yes. Especially on the internet all the time. Yes.

I love that you're actually speaking your truth. and you're like not you're but you're still doing it so eloquently too like and I admire that because me I'm the complete opposite I will fucking blow shit up and then look back and be like oopsie you know but you're still being so eloquent about it and loving and that that says a lot more about you than it does anybody else that's involved in that situation so and you know what has been the most healing thing nothing to do with that nothing to do with my divorce or marriage the women that come up to me every day whether it's after a show on the street at the grocery store and say to me you helped me through my pain. Cool. I'd do it all over again because it really is worth that and I

stand on stage singing songs like what he didn't do that literally like crushed me to write and I'm just like just wait to see yourself after that situation because I don't identify with her anymore. Yeah. Like I now, if you would have ever told me I would have 29 tattooed on my arm the year, like the worst year of my life. And I have it as a reminder of like, oh, no, no, no, no, no. That was like a defining moment of like your happiness. I love that. That's so powerful too.

And women who are listening to this podcast, I know are going to get so much more insight to who you are. Yeah. And just, I don't know, you're leading by example. And that's the best thing that you could ever do to walk through life is just to show people how you get through your shit. Yeah. Moving on from that nightmare,

you write your album 29. in 2021 and you were reflecting on the divorce, but also your producer, Busby's death. And then you got invited by Dolly Parton to join the Grand Ole Opry. So it was like you went through this bullshit. And then finally you get invited to your dream. Literally in like a 12 month span,

I release 20, I get divorced. I release 29. I get invited by my idol to become a member of the Opry. I went two-time female vocals of the year. and I win a Grammy. And I'm like, how is that real? Yeah. But again, like, I think what I continue to be reminded,

authenticity is the name of the game. Like, look at your husband and what he's, like, brought to our format. It's like, when you are authentically yourself, it's like, it's so powerful. And I wasn't writing, again, to, like, slam anyone. No. I was writing what I was going through. Yeah. And it just transcended, like, the pandemic even.

Like, I feel like my career took off in the pandemic. Yeah. It was almost like you needed that darkness because there was so much light that was about to come in. Yeah. What is it like winning your first Grammy? Like, what? What was the first time I'd ever been nominated to?

Yeah. Wow. Good for you. The odds for that is insane. And, you know, it was the song that Ashley McBride and I wrote together. We love Ashley. Yeah. And, like, we're sitting in the.

back of like the pre-tel where they do the the pre-televised awards and whoever was like doing our category she had like a really strong accent like she was foreign and so when she set we're up against like really big Grammy darlings as you know it's like it's very hard and she just goes Kelly Pierce and actually and once she got to pierce I was like did she just say my name I mean it was like a total out of body experience yeah I never even thought I thought I could get to the Grammys. Like, that wasn't really, like, female focus of the year at the CMAs was, like, the thing to me and, like, the Grand Alopry, but, like, the Grammys didn't even seem like a possibility

to even be a part of it. Yeah. No, that's amazing and so exciting. I heard, okay, so I heard you say, this is a testament of who you are as a human, which is crazy to me, but you went to an award show after you had gotten in an accident and had had two of your front teeth knocked out and then you go to an award show two days freaking later like why not sit the award show out oh my god this i'm telling you 2020 was 2020 was a bitch um i got in an accident i knocked my two like i knocked half of my two front teeth out i had seven stitches in my lip

because i almost bit through my lip carly seven days before i was up for my first cma award and it was during the pandemic when like only the award or only the artist got to go i don't tell anyone i like do all my interviews like at my house my face looks insane um i had to get like bonding and stitches and a whole thing and i end up going to the award show and i took my i took my best girlfriend she's still my best friend from childhood yeah and i'm sitting there and like my lip starts bleeding because it's like so messed up and she's like you got to like you got to like pat your lip but that morning, we were watching Good Morning America and they announced music event of the year. And never in a million years that I think I was going to win that. But I won it for, I hope you're

happy now, the song that Busby last worked on. And that was the craziest experience. And of course, I wake up the next day and all these radio stations are like, Harley Pierce had a bad botched job of her lips being done. And I'm like, no, I don't. No, you have no idea. You have no idea what I've gone through. Yeah. Like my teeth were moving. And then you still didn't speak publicly about that. No, I didn't. How do you have that much reserve? I'd have been on freaking TikTok. Hello? No, this is what happened, you know? Like, you just are so like, I don't know how you do it. Again, I think I, I think for so long I've been afraid to like rock the boat. And I didn't, I just didn't want to feed into it. But like, if you saw these pictures, they were insane. The seven stitches in

your mouth like almost bit straight through my lip and again like I'm singing I hope you're happy now on the stage and my teeth are like moving in my mouth because I had to let them set oh in the next day I got three root canals when my first CMA three root canals the next day Carly you're a beast you're straight up savage girl like I don't that's it's just barbaric it was crazy at this point it's like are you do you like the pain oh my god I'll show you the picture maybe when this air is I'll post a picture of my teeth so that you could see it. Yeah, you can send it to me me. I just, oh my gosh. I had to ask you about that because I was just like, this is crazy.

I like sent a picture to my now manager. He was my drummer at the time. And I was like, hey, so I've had like an accident. I sent him this picture and he just calls me and he's like, what happened? Like, what happened? I mean, I looked like I got beat up. Poor baby, dude. And then to just go and face the world like that. You're just, you're a freaking soldier, dude. So let's talk about this heart condition that you have.

How did you discover it? What were your symptoms? How long were you dealing with it for? I have something called recurrent pericarditis. And back in 2020, I was headed to a place in Nashville called OnSight, which is. I love Onside. Hi, Hey, Miles. Hey, Miles.

I always tell Miles when we walk through an award show. I'm like, I know who got counseling from you. Amen. Everybody in their mom is, hey Miles. So I go to a three-day intensive with Miles when my, um, or at on site. And I remember walking up the hill from the parking lot and I had like this really intense chest pain

and like really short of breath. My dad had a widow maker heart attack when I was 19. He's still here. I remember he was at my house because I was going through my divorce. And so when I got back from onsite, I was like, man, something is like not right. He was like, you know, him of all people should have been like, are you okay like should we go get it checked and he's like I'm telling you it's anxiety you're going

through a lot blah blah blah and I think the thing that I wanted people to understand and why I went public a doctors dismissed me for years oh it's anxiety oh it's in your head oh it's you're fine you just live a really stressful life and it's like I'm telling you like my body is telling me something like I've never felt like this in my life so I had shortness of breath but it kind of went away and at the time like I'm an avid runner so I was like running on this when I shouldn't have been. I was just like doing my life. Not shocking. I know like an idiot. Heart condition goes and runs eight miles. I'm like, oh, it's fine, but I knew it wasn't fine. I ended up fainting and went to the ER and they told me I had pericarditis, which is like

inflammation. Your heart is in a in a sack, and it's the inflammation of the sack around it, and a pericardial effusion is when it like fills with fluid. And so I had that, but then I got better. Well, then I started having these what they call flares, like over the last few years, like these little flares where I would take a bunch of ibuprofen and I'd be fine. And last year I was on the road with Timmergall and had a flare on a shoot where I knew it was bad. Ended up going, getting checked, had to go to the ER and was finally diagnosed with recurrent pericarditis, which a lot of people deal with, especially young people, where that happens. of times it's from a virus that you've had. A lot of people get it like after they've had a major

surgery or whatever. I didn't really have anything like that. So it's still kind of unknown why. But it's something that I have to be kind of like aware of. I had to really change last summer like how I was operating on stage and couldn't get my heart rate up and all these different things. Luckily I've not had another major flare. But I wanted to go public with it obviously because my shows had to be different. I was like standing stationary for a lot of the shows, but also just you have to advocate for yourself

because even when I had that last flare, it was like I had a very like prominent sports coach, like a doctor of like a very big sports team. Tell me, this is not pericarditis. And it was. And it's like if you're not advocating for your own self, like who's going to advocate for you? Absolutely. Hold on one second.

I'm obsessed with him. He's like, I, like, want to hang him up, put an apple in his mouth and, like, roast him. I'm so sorry. I'm like, and you're talking about your, your health, and I'm just like, can I look at him? He's like, I got a hard condition too, girl. All right. If he could just lay there, that'll be great. So is there no, is there, are you going to live with this for the rest of your life?

Is there, I'm a part of this campaign called Life Disrupted, and it's actually allowed me to meet one of the very few like pericardial doctors in America, which has been like a total godsend for me. The short answer is you could, but a lot of people don't. Like it's kind of something that they live with for several years or whatnot. Hopefully I don't, but if I do, I feel like I know now how to manage it. It's not detrimental. You think, oh my God, and this was something that I really wanted people to understand. Like you think shortness of breath and chest pain, you're automatically having a heart attack, especially being like the daughter of somebody who's had heart disease.

Yeah, it's PTSD. Oh my God. But it's totally fine. And many people live with this and they are really affected. Like some people have flares all the time. I'm lucky that I don't. But it's been really a beautiful thing to meet so many people through this campaign that are dealing with the same things.

And I have a friend that I grew up with that I had no idea she was dealing with it. in South Carolina and she's my age avid runner she has it and she's like oh my god I didn't know that you did and so it's like given me this community again just to be like oh you have this okay cool like I'm not the only person dealing with this because I'd never heard of that just one more thing to add to your testimony yeah for sure let's talk about hummingbird you dropped it in June of 24 and you co-produced that album yeah take me on that journey that album I feel like was so special to me just being able to really put a flag in like the kind of country music that I want to make. It's so funny.

I feel like that album really has set me up for what I've, I've just finished my next album. It's the most me that I've ever felt in an album. But I feel like what Hummingbird did is it allowed me to really put a flagship on like traditional country music and that rooty sound. But it was like a healing journey for me. It was finding my happiness again and kind of like going through some darkness because really with 29, I didn't have time to really process what was going on. Right. And I went through like a lot of anxiety and depression during that of just like kind of trying to wrestle with, okay, I've had all this success, but I feel pretty empty inside and I feel sad.

And I feel like Hummingbird was kind of me grieving Busby, grieving like the loss of a relationship and finding myself on the other side of that. why'd you name it hummingbird um hummingbirds are a sign that the healing process can begin and that good luck is on the way and i had written that song not i had a song called hummingbird on the album had no idea that that was the meaning so i now have a little hummingbird i love that i love that you have tattoos because i would never that's why i smiled when you showed me with the 29 earlier because i was like carly's tatted up she's got some i love this yes are we going to do full sleeves i listen i think it would be hot on you right yeah i have have kind of like a cluster going. That's how she started. Now look at her. Haley, when I first, when Haley first started working for me, she didn't have one freaking tattoo or she had one little one.

It was a tourist sign or something like that. And then now she's like freaking tatted up. I'm very addicted to them. I like recently went in to get one because I kind of just started doing all this and somebody was like, oh, you have like the stamp look. And I was like, wait, I have a look. Like it's starting to become like, I mean, I'm like, I've got to commit here. So I love it. Sleep it up, baby. Yeah, I love it. I love that. So let's talk about this new relationship that you hard launched. Is this? Are we serious?

Yeah, we're serious. Yay. Tell me about it. You know, again, like the stigmas that people put on women, I was like, I'm 35. I'm never going to meet somebody. And it's like, oh, it's so funny. I'm happier than ever. Yeah.

And I met him on a dating app. Like, don't think that you can't. Which one? Which one? Raya girl. Girl. Yeah. I got to get my girls on Raya because I hear it's great.

over there. Well, it's also, like, awful. Like, I don't know. Like, you meet. Well, I mean, they're on Bumble. That's probably worse than Raya. Yeah. I just didn't think he could meet a real person on Raya. Like, I don't know. I just felt like, how am I going to be able to, like, meet somebody that's aligned with me? He's not in any kind of entertainment, which is the best thing ever. Yeah.

But yeah, I'm just really happy. And again, I'm in this season of my life where I'm like, I don't care what you think about me because for so long, it was like, well, everybody thinks I'm like dating too many people and there's something wrong with me because my relationship didn't work and it's like absolutely not. Like I hard launched it because I just don't care anymore. How are you supposed to find, isn't that the point of dating? Like, oh yeah. Is to find somebody that you want to spend the rest of your life with? I'm like, I'm sorry I've had a few relationships since my marriage. Isn't that the point? Like I didn't, it's not like I've married six people. It's like, fuck everybody. I've been married three times and I've just

decided at 45 that I want to have a child. There's nothing in the world that anybody can tell you what the fuck to do. It's not their life. It's yours. I've literally at 35 just accepted that. And like literally one day was just like, I'm so happy. Freeze your eggs now, girl. I know. Do it now. Don't be going through what I'm going through. No, no, no, I know. I know. I'm like, there's no timeline and there's no right way to do it. And if somebody wants to judge me for it, do it. I don't care anymore. They're at home judging and they've got freaking three divorces and fucking, you know, like, come on. Like, it's people that live in glass houses throw stones all the time. They do. And the only thing that matters is how you feel about your life. Nobody else is living your life for you. You know, so I'm happy. I'm really happy for you.

Thank you. And you seem giddy when you talk about him. How long have you guys been together? It's like newer. Okay. No. In the last six months. I love that. But he's the best. I love as long as he makes you happy and as long as he makes you smile. That's all that matters. What can we expect from you coming up? Like I said, I have made my favorite. music that I've ever made. And I feel like in a season where it's so easy to want to chase the trend, like I told you. And I just doubled down on the kind of music that I came to town wanting to make. I grew up loving Appalachian, Kentucky, like bluegrass roots music. And bring it back. I just dove into it. And it's truly my favorite music I've made. So there's a lot

When's it coming? Are you like to tell us soon? Okay. Really soon. All right. Carly, thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

I'm so happy we were finally able to sit down together and get to spend some time together. Me too. Anytime you want to come back, my couch is always open. Thanks, girl. And anytime you want me to tell somebody off, just send them my way. Don't you worry. I got your back girl now. I know you do.

For life. Don't fuck with my girl, Carly. I'll be coming for you, motherfuckers. And if people don't know where to find you, just shout out your socials. I'm sure they can find you everywhere. at Carly Pierce on all the things. There we go. Thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Dunblonde.

I'll see you guys next week. Bye.