How Did Maren Morris Meet Husband Ryan Hurd?

The marriage between singer-songwriter Maren Morris and singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd is over, but the two had a good run that gifted us with some amazing music. Maren filed for divorce in October 2023 after five years of marriage and a decade after the two first met. Back then, both of them were just songwriters. They both lived in Nashville and were assigned to collaborate.

"We were both at different publishing companies, and our publishers' job is to fill our calendars up, so they just randomly put us together on a write one day," Morris told People in 2017. The duo wrote what would become Tim McGraw's "Last Turn Home." Morris said, "It was the start of a wonderful writing relationship," and added that of the songs she and Hurd wrote together, "Last Turn Home" was one of her personal favorites.

Over time, their songwriting together evolved beyond merely professional and friendly. However, there was a major obstacle keeping them apart. 

In Maren Morris' People interview about how she met Ryan Hurd, she shared how they started dating. "We had been friends for only a couple of years," Morris said, "but there was always this writing chemistry in the room, and eventually, the timing of it was undeniable. We had such a foundation built off writing so many songs over the years that we were like, 'Why are we avoiding this?'"

When speaking to Billboard in 2021 about their duet "Chasing After You" (penned by songwriters Brinley Addington and Jerry Flowers), Morris opened up more about how her relationship with Hurd started. She admitted they were dating other people when they first met. 

"We kind of grew a love out of a friendship over many years before we were out of those other relationships and could finally be together after some time," Morris told the outlet. "I think ['Chasing After You'] reminds us of falling in love with each other and not being able to really act on it yet."

Ryan Hurd shared his perspective on falling in love with Maren Morris in his own People interview, also from 2017. The way they would go out after writing together inspired his single "Love in a Bar."

"We wrote 'Last Turn Home,' that Tim McGraw recorded, and we would write and then after we'd go over to a bar in midtown and have a couple beers," Hurd told the outlet. "That's when we started making a real connection, beyond a creative partnership." Hurd also mentioned how being in the music industry with his partner was a benefit, since they both understand what it's like trying to succeed in the field and can support each other.

Hurd hinted in 2022 that he and Morris may record a duet album one day. Sadly, such a thing will likely not happen anymore due to their split. There were signs that Morris and Hurd's marriage wouldn't last, but no one can deny falling in love writing songs is an incredibly romantic story.