Kacey Musgraves Finally Reveals That Yes, She Did Have Beef With Miranda Lambert — Here’s How It Was Squashed

Kacey Musgraves confirmed that the beef between her and Miranda Lambert has officially been squashed. The recent development has seemingly verified, after years of speculation, that the two female country music stars had a sour relationship. But where did their feud originate?

In an interview with NPR, Musgraves explained the similarities between her and Lambert. "It was two singers from two nearby, small Texas towns. There's a lot that comes with that. Then we each take our different paths, both leading us to Nashville at different times," she said.

The Mecca of country music is where Lambert, Musgrave, and countless other artists headed to in order to establish themselves in one of America's most beloved and popular genres of music. Lambert, while looking for a hot new single, came upon "Mama's Broken Heart," a track that was written by Musgraves.

Trouble is, Musgraves was attempting to craft her own hit debut single with "Mama's Broken Heart," and had no idea the song was being floated to Lambert. "It was gonna be my first single, and I loved the song so much. Then, the song gets pitched to [Miranda Lambert] without my consent or knowledge," she told NPR.

In the end, Lambert ended up recording the song, which appeared on her 2011 album, "Four the Record," leaving Musgraves "back to the drawing board," as she said, to make a new first hit track.

"It was a tricky situation. She ended up loving the song, and she really wanted it. And I had other co-writers to consider," Kacey said.

The singer/songwriter said that Lambert getting "Mama's Broken Heart" worked out better for her in the end: "I'm really glad ... because it forced me to write 'Merry Go Round,' which ended up making way more sense for me anyways, aesthetically and lyrically, to kick my whole thing off."

Additionally, Musgraves said that the song ended up doing extremely well for Lambert, too, heading to No. 1 for the fellow East Texas country singer. "So in the end, everyone won because I was able to let go of something," she said.

For years, fans believed Musgraves gave Lambert shade at the 2013 Country Music Awards after Lambert won top honors for Female Vocalist of the Year.

Musgraves, who was also up for the same distinction, had what people thought was a deadpan reaction to seeing Lambert up on the stage. This is even after the "Kerosene" singer gave a shoutout to Musgraves on the stage, stating that "East Texas girls gotta stick together."

Taste of Country reported in November of 2013 that Musgraves clarified her lack of enthusiasm during Lambert's speech, stating simply that the camera simply caught her at a time she wasn't smiling.

However, recent statements from Musgraves indicate that the two did have some ill will towards each other, but that it didn't last long.

After the friction caused by "Mama's Broken Heart" quelled, Musgraves said she and Lambert weren't really all that close. But seeing Lambert riding a horse on Instagram prompted her to reach out. "I was like, 'Well, we ain't friends, but I guess we have two things in common, horses and divorces, that's for sure," Kacey said.

After making that connection, she got the idea for writing a track with that same title. "Wait, that could be a really funny song. What if it's a duet with her? What if I got her to write on it?" Following this, Musgraves contacted Lambert: "I'm not trying to be your friend. You got your life, I have mine. But I think this would be a pretty f--king funny song ... and she was like, 'Hell yeah, I'm in, let's do it."

And the rest was history. "Horses and Divorces" will be featured on Musgraves' "Middle of Nowhere" album, which is set to debut on May 1, 2026.