Maren Morris won't hold back on her upcoming album - because she doesn't "have to protect anyone anymore".
The 34-year-old star recently came out as bisexual following her split from Ryan Hurd - with whom she has son Hayes, four - last October after five years of marriage, and as she prepares to unleash her new record, 'Intermission', she has spoken about no longer holding onto "feelings" she keeps in her diary, some of which are "heartbreaking".
Referring to her album's track 'Cut!' with Julia Michaels, she said in an Instagram Reel this week: "Calling this project Intermission was intentional. It's obviously a lyric at the end of the song Cut!'.
"But it's also meaning that there's more to come.
"It's a break in the act, and for me, it's definitely an act break and new chapter of my life, and I'm so ready to see what's on the other page.
"I just am so proud of this music. It wasn't easy to write because I'm going through a lot, and this is the diary of that.
"But it's also the most fun music as well as the most heartbreaking because I'm allowing myself to go there - 'cause I don't have to protect anyone anymore. It's just about my feelings. So I hope you love it."
Maren revealed she is attracted to both men and women in a social media post to mark Pride month in June.
She shared a series of photos from her concert in Arizona, including some of her waving a small Pride flag, and wrote on Instagram: “PHOENIX, AZ happy to be the B in LGBTQ+ happy pride [rainbow emoji] (sic)"
The 'My Church' singer announced last year she was stepping away from country music because she felt "very, very distanced" from the industry and its politics.
She told the Los Angeles Times newspaper of country music: "I thought I’d like to burn it to the ground and start over. But it’s burning itself down without my help.”
The 'Get The Hell Out Of Here' singer has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and the Black Lives Matter movement, and she admitted pushing for change only led to her feeling isolated.
She said: “I’ve always been an asker of questions and a status quo challenger just by being a woman. So it wasn’t really even a choice.
"The further you get into the country music business, that’s when you start to see the cracks. And once you see it, you can’t un-see it...
"If you truly love this type of music and you start to see problems arise, it needs to be criticized. Anything this popular should be scrutinised if we want to see progress.
"But I’ve kind of said everything I can say. I always thought I’d have to do middle fingers in the air jumping out of an airplane, but I’m trying to mature here and realize I can just walk away from the parts of this that no longer make me happy."
Maren admitted being female in the industry is particularly tough.
She said: "Being one of the few women that had any success on country radio, everything you do is looked at under a microscope. You’re scrutinised more than your male peers, even when you’re doing well.
"So I’ve had to clear all of that out of my head this year and just write songs. A lot of the drama within the community, I’ve chosen to step outside out of it.”
'Intermission' is due for release on August 12.
