The 2019 Grammys were quite a night for Kacey Musgraves. Her album, Golden Hour, was nominated in four different categories, and she joined Katy Perry, Little Big Town, and Maren Morris in a tribute to Dolly Parton. And you probably noticed a man on her arm on the red carpet: her husband, Ruston Kelly. Musgraves thanked Kelly when she won Record of the Year. She also dedicated the award to him.
But who is Kacey Musgraves’ husband when he's not being a supportive partner at a major awards show? Although he doesn’t spend quite as much time in the spotlight as his wife, Kelly is actually a musician, too. Kelly is a singer and a songwriter who lives in Nashville, and last year, he released his first full-length album, Dying Star, which he told Rolling Stone was inspired by how he felt after he suffered from an overdose in 2015. Now, he’s about to embark on a tour with Brothers Obsorne… and, oh yeah, he's married to someone pretty cool, too.
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Here’s everything you need to know about Kelly and his love story with Musgraves:
They Met When Musgraves Heard Him Sing
As she told Hits Daily Double, Musgraves first met her now-husband when she was at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in March 2016 — a place she said she usually avoids because it’s too “touristy” for her. Kelly was performing, and she was instantly struck by his talent.
“I didn’t go with anyone, and I was sitting by myself at a table. Ruston played his first song, and I was just stunned by everything in it — the words, the melody, what he was saying,” Musgraves told the magazine. “I was just sitting at this table, crying.”
After his set, she introduced herself and asked him if he wanted to write a song with her. A couple of months later, he came to her house to collaborate and the rest is, as they say, history.
And Less Than A Year Later, They Were Engaged
On Christmas Eve that same year, Kelly popped the question in Musgraves’ childhood home, and a day later, she showed off her engagement ring on Instagram.
“Last night, the best man I've ever met got down on one knee in my little pink childhood home… in the same room I played with my ponies and barbies and asked me the easiest question I've ever been asked,” she wrote.
They tied the knot in October 2017 in an outdoor wedding in Tennessee, and according to what the bride told Martha Stewart Weddings, they wrote their own vows, typing them up on Kelly’s typewriter.
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Musgraves Said Kelly Has Changed Her Whole Perspective On Love
And if you noticed how Musgraves’ tone toward the subject changed on Golden Hour, that has a little something to do with Kelly.
“I love love. So much I’ve never expressed it inwardly in the songs. Now that I’m with someone who loves me no matter what my flaws are, it’s a whole other thing,” she told Hits Daily Double. “And you see it even more clearly. Good God, people suck. But then my heart wrenches for people in every situation: How did they get like that? And maybe in the craziness of the societal and political landscape, being a voice for love is radical.”
They’ve Even Performed A Duet
If you haven’t seen this video of Musgraves and Kelly performing “To June This Morning” by Johnny Cash (above), you need to — their chemistry is palpable, and adorable.
It seems like Musgraves and Kelly are in for a big night at the Grammys, but whether or not she goes home with a shiny new award, it seems like she can count on her husband to be there however it plays out.
This post has been updated.