Kacey Musgraves's Dating History Explains Her Relationship-Focused Music

Country music darling Kacey Musgraves is known for her incorporation of pop music and the way she sings about progressive topics, giving her a broad and diverse fan base that often leans toward the younger set.

Many of her songs touch on the typical themes, focusing on rural living in America. But there's a hint of self-awareness and growth that makes her appealing to those who want a little more than the blues soul yearning of typical pop country. And a few even have some cheeky references, like "Lonely with a Capital H."

And if you know a little bit about her dating history, it makes sense that so many of her songs are focused on relationship experience. Here's a look at the men she's dated through the years.

According to People, Kacey's first public relationship was with producer and her former guitar player, Misa Arriaga. Working together made them comfy with one another, and Kacey told The Fader "We just kind of became best friends. It was cool that we had a chance to really get to know each other before everything kind of got crazy.”

They dated from 2014 to 2016, at which point they seem to have broken up, although Kacey didn't speak about it publicly. Just a few months later, Kacey moved on to what would turn out to be a very consequential relationship.

A few months after splitting from Misa, Kacey started dating Ruston Kelly. She said in an interview at the time that she wasn't really looking for love when she met the singer.

She mused, "It was the last thing I’d expected. I wasn’t gonna date. I built walls I didn’t know I was building, and I was in a place I didn’t understand" (excerpt via People).

They met at a cafe in a sweet meet-cute, which later featured in her song, "Butterflies."

They married in 2017 and seemed to be happy. However, something must have happened in the intervening time, because they announced plans to divorce in 2020. The couple made a “painful decision together” after “a very long period of trying the best [they could]"

After Ruston, Kacey was linked to a Nashville-based doctor named Dr. Gerald Onuoha. The two reportedly dated for a few months before calling it quits.

A few months after splitting with Gerald, Kacey was romantically linked to writer Cole Schafer. They made their first debut on the red carpet as a couple in 2022, although they were photographed together as early as 2021.

However, they ended things in 2024.

She told The Cut, "Whenever I’m in a relationship, I’m all f--king in. After divorce, it’s like: On one hand, I do want to self-protect, but at the same time, if your heart is feeling open, I think you have to just show up for it. I’m still trying to figure out the balance of that.”

While Kacey hasn't been linked to anyone publicly since then, she's a hopeless romantic at heart.