Maren Morris ended her marriage to Ryan Hurd in a bid to find her ‘true self’ an insider has told DailyMail.com – with her shock decision leaving her former spouse ‘heartbroken’.

The country singer, 33, filed for divorce from singer-songwriter Ryan, 36, on October 2, after five years of marriage, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’, according to court papers obtained by Us Weekly.

Now, insiders have shed some light on the reasons behind the divorce, saying that Maren’s personal struggles over the past few years played a key role in her decision. 

Maren has endured an ‘up-and-down ride’ in the last few years after welcoming their only child, son Hayes, now three, via emergency C-section during Covid, and subsequently being diagnosed with postpartum depression.

The singer has talked candidly in the past about her struggle with the condition, revealing it led to an ‘identity crisis’.

‘The last few years have been an up-and-down ride for Maren,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘Maren is a brutally honest person with herself, with her career, and when others don’t share her advocacy or how to treat people, it really hurts her heart.

Maren Morris, 33, is said to have filed for divorce from Ryan Hurd, 36, so she can focus on finding her ‘true self’  

The country singer has been married to Ryan, with whom she has three-year-old son Hayes, for five years 

The picture-perfect pair had married in Nashville in March 2018 and welcomed their only child in March 2020

‘Covid affected people in different ways. She had a child during that time, it was a difficult pregnancy, she was dealing with postpartum and her mental health, and it changed her routine with her music career, her touring, her writing.

‘As much as her relationship with Ryan got stronger, it also became different because Maren was changing into the woman she is today. She grew apart from Ryan, and for her to fully be her true self, she had to do it this way – focus on her well-being, her son, and her life.’

The insider claimed there was ‘no cheating, infidelity or anything like that’, adding: ‘They are going to continue to co-parent. Maren thinks Ryan is a great dad – but she just isn’t in love with him romantically anymore.

‘She’s lived a lot of life for 33 years and now wants to get to a place where she can enjoy things on her terms.’

They claimed Ryan is still very much in love with his wife and is struggling to navigate the break-up.

‘Ryan still loves Maren and is not taking the divorce that well. He is heartbroken,’ they said.

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DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Maren and Ryan for comment. 

The pair met in 2014 after collaborating on Tim McGraw’s hit, Last Turn Home. They tied the knot in Nashville in March 2018 before welcoming Hayes in March 2020.

Maren filed for divorce on October 2, with reports claiming the now-estranged couple had a prenup agreement.

Ryan is said to be ‘heartbroken’ at the filing, according to insiders. The pair pictured at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2022

Maren has talked candidly about her struggle with postpartum depression following the delivery of her son by C-section 

The singer, who has won five Academy of Country Music Awards, has yet to publicly address their split – but she did share a cryptic quote on Instagram last week.

It featured the partially crossed-out text, ‘it will be fine,’ alongside the words: ‘It will just be, and when it is, you will face what’s necessary.’

Maren previously credited Ryan with helping her to get through postpartum depression – a condition which causes some new moms to experience extreme sadness and despair.

‘He kind of just helped me in song form, and in just conversation form, figure out how to get to the light,’ she told TODAY’s Willie Geist in December.

Speaking about the pressure she felt at the time, she continued: ‘I think a lot of identity crises happened there…

The couple first met while collaborating on the 2014 Tim McGraw hit Last Turn Home 

‘Not just being a new parent and a new mother and dealing with postpartum depression for the first time, and reeling from that, and trying to like find the forest through the trees. But also, just knowing my worth without someone clapping for me.’

She also addressed how becoming a mother has inspired her to be more vocal about her own wants and needs, adding: ‘I think it’s gotten more galvanized since I’ve had my son, that I am really trying to make something beyond music.’

Maren recently quit the country music scene, claiming the ‘hyper-masculine, quasi-patriotic’ genre is being used as a ‘weapon in culture wars’.

‘After the Trump years, people’s biases were on full display,’ she told the L.A. Times. ‘They were proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic. All these things were being celebrated, and it was weirdly dovetailing with this hyper-masculine branch of country music.’