A country music star is opening up about mental health and her divorce ahead of her New York State Fair concert.
Carly Pearce revealed Monday on the ”Dumb Blonde” podcast that she’s had anxiety and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) since she was 6 years old. She was diagnosed with OCD at a young age, but therapy after divorcing Michael Ray in 2020 made her realize she’s also always had anxiety.
“I would have told you, like, three years ago, my anxiety started during my divorce in COVID,” Pearce told host Bunnie Xo. “But I’ve had crippling OCD since I was a child. So like checking my backpack over and over and over, checking my alarm over and over and over.”
“I remember [my mom] taking me to the local library to meet a meteorologist to try to calm that. So, I’ve had anxiety my whole life. I still struggle with OCD.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, anxiety disorders can include “repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks).” OCD symptoms include “a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions” that lead to repetitive behaviors.
The 35-year-old singer said it can be “so debilitating” at times, adding that removing her breast implants in 2019 led to “the worst suicidal ideation and depression I’ve ever had in my life.”
Pearce said some of her issues developed in childhood when she was “6 or 7 years old.” She described her mother as a “perfectionist,” recalling “a core memory” where Barbie shoes had to go in an exact spot.
“So I learned. She never left the house without her makeup on. She was always just so put together that I think that perfectionism just became not not intent. She didn’t mean to do that to me,” Pearce said. “Wasn’t like she was like, ‘You have to be this way.’ But I watched and led by example. Yeah. So then I wanted to have everything perfect.”
Carly Pearce performs onstage at The 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 9, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
She also told the “Dumb Blonde” podcast that her ACM-nominated song “What He Didn’t Do” was inspired by her marriage to Ray, which lasted just 8 months.
“Looking back on it, it was a hot and heavy lust. It wasn’t love. It was just passionate,” she told Xo. “I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have… I was embarrassed when [the divorce happened] and was heartbroken.”
Pearce is a Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter known for songs like “I Hope You’re Happy Now” (feat. Lee Brice), “Next Girl,” “What He Didn’t Do,” “Every Little Thing,” and “We Don’t Fight Anymore” (feat. Chris Stapleton). She’s performed in Central New York multiple times, including at the Syracuse amphitheater opening for Kenny Chesney in 2022 and with Lady A in 2021.
Pearce will perform on the NYS Fair’s Suburban Park stage Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 8 p.m. The concert is free to attend with admission to the fair.
Carly Pearce performs at St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview in Syracuse, N.Y., on Aug. 11, 2022. Pearce opened the country concert for Kenny Chesney. (Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com)
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.