Tyler responds.
On Wednesday, the Grand Ole Opry celebrated their centennial anniversary with an NBC special, Opry 100: A Live Celebration. They obviously had tons of country legends and current stars on hand to help honor the history of the Opry, and there were some really great performances, actually.
Carly Pearce took the stage to perform Dolly Parton’s hit “Jolene,” and she says she was singing to someone particular in the crwd. She went through a very public divorce from fellow country singer Michael Ray in 2020 after being married for less than a year, and her album 29: Written in Stone was mostly about the heartbreak of that whole experience.
Since then, they’ve both dated other people, but following their divorce, Michael started dating Tyler Tritt, the daughter of ’90s country star Travis Tritt. They’ve since broken up, and I don’t really know anything about the details of the relationship other than knowing they used to post about each other on occasion. And I definitely don’t know anything about timelines or when they became official, but they shared pictures together within a month or two of the divorce being final.
There’s never been any official, public confirmation of cheating from either side, but there’s seemingly some bad blood between Carly and Tyler, as Carly had a helluva response for a fan on X who asked about wanting to see Travis’ daughter Tyler during Carly’s performance of “Jolene,” rather than seeing during Travis’ performance of “T.R.O.U.B.L.E.” with Post Malone:
Got in to some T.R.O.U.B.L.E. tonight with @PostMalone at the @opry #Opry100 pic.twitter.com/YbYsa2Xy0q
— Travis Tritt (@TravisTritt) March 20, 2025
Here’s the tweet:
“They finally put a camera on Travis Tritt’s daughter when Post Malone was on. I wanted to see her when Carly Pearce sang ‘Jolene.’”
They finally put a camera on Travis Tritt’s daughter when Post Malone was on. I wanted to see her when Carly Pearce sang “Jolene”. 🤣🤣 #Opry100
— Spring is on the way! 🌸🌷 (@Rich804Terri) March 20, 2025
And rather than ignoring it and scrolling right on by, Carly responded directly to it, saying she “looked right at her” while singing about the banker who tried to take Dolly’s husband back in the day:
“Aw don’t you worry, I looked right at her.”
I guess we can just read between the lines, here, people…
Aw don’t you worry, I looked right at her 😇
— Carly Pearce (@carlypearce) March 20, 2025
Here’s a quick clip of the performance:
Carly Pearce celebrates Dolly Parton at the Opry 100: A Live Celebration. 🤩 Watch on @peacock! pic.twitter.com/71LHUwUoDX
— E! News (@enews) March 20, 2025
Well, Tyler saw our post on Instagram, and she also took time to share her side of the story on her stories, saying it was a “lie” that Carly could even see her while she was singing, because she was not sitting up front with her parents at that point of the show, she was in the back with her brother.
Tyler also called Carly one of “the most lying, manipulative, pettiest mean girls that I’ve never even met,” saying she felt it was time people knew that. She also threw in a “you’re literally older than me, grow up!” which is pretty savage too:
“Y’all I’m dying! First of all, she couldn’t have seen me at all where I was sitting while she was performing because I wasn’t up front with my parents at that time, I was in the back with my brother. So that is a bold face lie.
Obviously I’m living rent free in her head. This girl is one of the most lying, manipulative, pettiest mean girls that I’ve never even met and it’s truly time more people knew. You’re literally older than me, grow up!”
She also tagged Carly directly in the story, and honestly, it feels like fair game for her to be able to say her side too. I have no skin in the game whatsoever, but how can you not respond when you’re certainly not the one who started it? I’ve never met either one of them so I have no idea of the details in terms of their own personal drama, but it sounds like they’re not exactly besties, which shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone:
There’s rumors that Carly’s song “Heels Over Head” was written about Tyler and her relationship with Carly’s ex-husband, and it’s a pretty ruthless one that finds Carly coming to the realization that the guy she likes doesn’t want to work quite so hard for a good time, so to speak, and would rather just take the “easier” option, if you will… if that’s the case, I can see why they aren’t on great terms, but who knows.
I’m sure this won’t be the last of this whole saga… stay tuned.
“Heels Over Head”