Carly Pearce's Mental Health Confession Inspires Fans To Talk About OCD

Country star Carly Pearce is pulling back the curtain on her lifelong struggle with mental health. The Grammy-winning singer, best known for hits like "Every Little Thing" and "I Hope You're Happy Now," revealed that she has been living with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder since childhood, a battle that became even more difficult during her highly publicized 2020 divorce from fellow country artist Michael Ray and the career upheaval caused by the pandemic.

The 35-year-old has previously spoken about the importance of therapy, telling Prevention in 2021 that she believes "you have to take care of your mind like you take care of your body." Now, she's opening up more than ever, sharing when she first recognized the signs of OCD and how she's learning to prioritize her mental health.

Pearce shared her experiences during the Monday, August 25, episode of Bunnie Xo's "Dumb Blonde" podcast. When asked when her anxiety started, Pearce admitted that while she once thought it began during her divorce, she's since realized she's been struggling since she was a child.

"I would have told you three years ago my anxiety started during my divorce in Covid," Pearce said. "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."

She later added, "And my mom would just try to calm me down, or I would freak out over storms. I remember her taking me to the local library to meet a meteorologist to try to calm that. I've had anxiety my whole life."

The "Every Little Thing" artist said that the stress of 2020 made her decide it was time to get serious about her mental health. That year, she endured the sudden end of her marriage and was taken off the road due to COVID-19.

"I think it just really came to a head of me wanting to do something about it in Covid," she explained. "Being taken off the road, going through a public divorce, it was like, I think my body just had a visceral reaction of like, 'Oh, my God.' I can't tell you how many interviews I sat through, trying so hard to keep myself together. It's been a journey for me. … I felt like I was trapped in my own body."

Pearce said she spent years "zipping it up and dealing with it," but eventually realized she needed to step back and truly focus on herself.

"I got really conditioned over the last 10 years to just zip it up and deal with it, and it just kind of got to a place where a couple years ago I just had to really start back into therapy, start really, like, trying to figure out all of these different things," she said. "Like, recognizing OCD was something. No, that didn't come in 2020, that's been there since I was 6 or 7."

When asked if there were specific childhood triggers, Pearce pointed to her mom's perfectionism. Though her mom never pressured her to be perfect, she tried to emulate her behavior. "I watched and led by example, so then I wanted to have everything perfect," she recalled.

Carly Pearce's mental health journey was also shaped by her short-lived marriage to fellow country singer Michael Ray. Their romance began passionately and very publicly after Pearce first messaged Ray on social media. The two married in October 2019 just outside of Nashville, but the relationship quickly unraveled. Pearce filed for divorce in June 2020, citing irreconcilable differences, and the split was finalized only eight months after their wedding.

While the experience was painful, Pearce has been open about how it forced her to reevaluate what she wanted in life. She admitted the marriage had been on shaky ground long before the divorce, and ultimately, the end of that chapter pushed her to confront her mental health more directly.

Rather than shy away from the heartbreak, Pearce turned it into art. Her 2021 EP "29" captured the raw emotions of the split and the challenges of that year, offering fans an honest look at how she found strength through vulnerability.

Today, she credits those struggles with helping her grow, proving that even the hardest moments can lead to resilience and healing.