Carly Pearce and Michael Ray called off their marriage in June 2020 just months after tying the knot.
During her appearance on PEOPLE Every Day podcast, the singer, 30, told host Janine Rubenstein that it was her rising star that helped amid the difficult time. "In the midst of so much personal change, and turmoil, and heartache, I still felt so much love from country music," she explained. "In my entire life, country music has always been the thing that made me feel understood or ... saved me. In the midst of it, fans really understood what they were giving to me."
Part of that process included grieving over the 2019 death of her producer, Busbee. "I had to figure out what music looked like without [Busbee], and I also had to find my way through this divorce that I didn't see coming," she continued. "I'm just so proud of this [new] music. I think it's the most authentic music that I've made."
Pearce put a lot of that inspiration into her new EP, 29, and learned to accept the hardships as teachable moments. "The biggest thing for me during 2020 was learning that ... it's okay to not be okay," she admitted. "Just accept that life is all about moments that are going to either define you or refine you, and refinement's a really beautiful thing."
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