Maren Morris’ next album, Humble Quest, comes on the heels of a global pandemic and the singer’s transition into parenthood. She and her fellow artist husband Ryan Hurd welcomed their son, Hayes, in March 2020.
The pandemic forced Maren to prioritize her mental health. “I’m pretty sure everyone in lockdown and this pandemic has had to do a temperature check on their mental health, and maybe it’ll become a more perpetual practice going forward — I hope it is,” she tells People.
Maren also experienced postpartum depression after giving birth to Hayes, another mental health challenge that caused her to grow as she worked on her new album. Her depression started to ease up when Hayes was about six months old, she explains, and therapy — and the support of Ryan — helped her make her way through it.
“I do check-ins all the time [with] therapy, which I’ve done for years, and my husband was a huge help diagnosing that, too,” she continues.
“Sometimes, it’s just someone really close to you saying, ‘Are you okay?’” the singer adds. “It’s so simple, but it kind of snaps you out of whatever fog you’re in that you think is normal, but isn’t.”
Maren and Ryan have long supported each other both professionally and musically, and they topped the country charts together with their duet, “Chasing After You.”
Maren recently posted a photo of the couple sharing a hug, captioning it ,“this album wouldn’t have happened without you.”
Humble Quest comes out Friday. Fans have already heard a handful of its songs, including lead single “Circles Around This Town.”
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