Kacey Musgraves has not publicly confirmed a current boyfriend in the reporting reviewed for this article. Her most recent widely documented relationship was with writer Cole Schafer, whom she dated for approximately two years before their split became public in 2023.
The Grammy-winning singer has spoken openly about falling in love, getting divorced and learning what she needs from a relationship. Those experiences have also accompanied different chapters of her music career, although her songs should never be treated as a complete record of her private life.
Before dating Schafer, Musgraves was married to fellow singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly. Her earlier dating history also includes musician Misa Arriaga, while she was briefly linked to Nashville doctor Gerald Onuoha following her divorce.
For anyone wondering who Kacey Musgraves is dating, the important starting point is that older stories naming Schafer as her boyfriend describe a past relationship. Here is a closer look at her public dating history and what she has said about love along the way.
Does Kacey Musgraves Have a Boyfriend?
Musgraves has shared parts of her romantic life publicly, but she has not provided a running account of everyone she might be seeing. Without a clear announcement or reliable confirmation, it would be premature to identify someone as her current boyfriend.
Cole Schafer remains her most recent widely documented partner. Their relationship began attracting attention in June 2021, and reports of their breakup emerged in late 2023. Musgraves subsequently discussed the split during interviews surrounding her 2024 album, Deeper Well.
That timeline matters because photographs, birthday tributes and interviews from their relationship still circulate online. They reflect a genuine chapter of her life, but they do not establish that the pair have reunited.
Her public comments since then have included reflections on independence, emotional openness and finding happiness while spending time on her own.
Who Is Kacey Musgraves’ Ex-Boyfriend Cole Schafer?
Cole Schafer is a writer and poet who became more widely known to entertainment audiences during his relationship with Musgraves.
Their introduction happened away from a recording studio or awards ceremony. According to Musgraves, they met at a restaurant after catching each other’s eye. She later explained that Schafer did not initially recognize her, something she found appealing.
For a performer accustomed to being recognized, meeting someone without that immediate association offered a different starting point. Their first connection was personal, before her public identity became part of the conversation.
The couple were photographed holding hands in New York City in June 2021. As their relationship continued, they shared affectionate moments on social media while keeping much of their everyday life out of public view.
Kacey Musgraves and Cole Schafer’s Relationship
Musgraves and Schafer made a particularly visible appearance together at the 2022 Met Gala. They posed on the museum steps and shared a kiss, giving fans one of the best-known images from their time as a couple.
Their relationship was public without being constantly documented through events. Social media posts offered occasional glimpses of their affection, but neither person shared every detail of the partnership.
After approximately two years together, they separated. Breakup reports appeared in late 2023, and Musgraves addressed the experience in an interview with The Cut published in March 2024.
She explained that she tends to commit fully when she enters a relationship. She also acknowledged the difficulty of balancing self-protection after divorce with a willingness to remain emotionally open.
Musgraves did not describe her willingness to love as something she regretted. Instead, she spoke about trying to understand how to protect herself without closing herself off.
Why Did Kacey Musgraves and Cole Schafer Split?
Musgraves has discussed her feelings after the breakup, but she has not given the public a detailed explanation of everything that led to it.
That leaves a clear limit on what can responsibly be said. Their separation is established, while claims about a particular argument, betrayal or private disagreement would require evidence that has not been provided.
Her comments focused more on her own approach to relationships than on assigning blame. She described the challenge of showing up wholeheartedly for someone while remaining aware of the possibility of being hurt.
The timing also overlapped with work on Deeper Well. However, that does not mean every lyric on the album should be read as a direct statement about Schafer. Songwriting can combine personal experience, reflection and imagined situations.
Her Marriage to Ruston Kelly
Before Schafer, Musgraves shared a significant part of her life with Ruston Kelly. The two singer-songwriters met at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe in March 2016.
Musgraves later recalled that she had not been looking for another relationship at the time. Meeting Kelly changed that, and plans to write music together became an early opportunity to get to know each other.
Their connection developed quickly. Kelly proposed on Christmas Eve in 2016, and they married in Tennessee in October 2017, surrounded by family and friends.
The relationship also became closely associated with an important period in Musgraves’ career. She spoke about the love and emotional security she experienced during the creation of Golden Hour, the album that brought her major critical recognition.
Kelly was beside her when Golden Hour won album of the year at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
When Did Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly Divorce?
Musgraves and Kelly announced their separation in July 2020, after a little more than two years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized that September.
In their public statement, they described the decision as something they had reached together after trying to make the marriage work. They also expressed continuing care and respect for each other.
Musgraves later told Rolling Stone that their marriage had simply not worked, despite the love between them. Her explanation centred on changing circumstances and the reality that affection does not always make a partnership sustainable.
That distinction is important when looking back at their relationship. Their divorce does not erase the happiness she previously described or the significance that period held in her life.
It also does not justify treating every later breakup song as an accusation against Kelly. Her public account was more measured than that.
Her Earlier Relationship With Misa Arriaga
Before marrying Kelly, Musgraves dated Misa Arriaga, a musician who played guitar in her band.
Their romantic relationship grew from an existing friendship. In a 2015 interview with The Fader, Musgraves explained that they had known each other for years and become close before they started dating.
That foundation gave them time to understand each other before her career became even busier. Their shared musical environment was already part of their everyday connection.
They were photographed together at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2014 and attended the CMA Awards as a couple in November 2015. Their relationship ended before Musgraves began dating Kelly in early 2016.
Arriaga therefore belongs to an earlier chapter of her dating history, rather than a recent development in her personal life.
Was Kacey Musgraves Dating Gerald Onuoha?
Following her divorce, Musgraves was briefly linked to Dr. Gerald Onuoha, a Nashville-based physician.
The dating speculation began in April 2021 after they were photographed embracing in Los Angeles. Musgraves also shared a photograph of them together on her Instagram Story, bringing more attention to the connection.
There was considerably less public information about this period than about her marriage or relationship with Schafer. A detailed timeline or explanation of how the connection ended was not widely shared.
By June 2021, Musgraves was being photographed with Schafer. The available account therefore supports describing Onuoha as someone she was briefly linked to, while avoiding assumptions about private commitments they did not explain publicly.
What Deeper Well Revealed About Her Outlook
Released in 2024, Deeper Well arrived during a period when Musgraves was speaking about reassessing her priorities.
In an interview with PEOPLE, she described thinking carefully about love, friendship and the things that were helping her grow. Her focus extended beyond whether she was in a relationship to include what she wanted to make room for in her life.
That gives useful context to the album without reducing it to a dating timeline. A person can be processing a breakup while also reconsidering friendships, habits, work and their sense of direction.
For Musgraves, the discussion was about understanding her needs more clearly. Romance was part of that process, but it was not the only part.
What Is Confirmed About Her Love Life?
Kacey Musgraves’ publicly documented romantic history includes Misa Arriaga, her former husband Ruston Kelly and former boyfriend Cole Schafer. She was also briefly linked to Gerald Onuoha in 2021.
Schafer should be identified as an ex-boyfriend, with their split becoming public in 2023 and Musgraves discussing it in 2024. A new relationship should only be presented as confirmed when she or reliable reporting establishes it.
Her own comments offer a more thoughtful picture than a list of partners alone. She has described loving deeply, accepting that a marriage could end despite affection, and trying to remain open after disappointment.
Those experiences belong to different stages of her life. Together, they help explain why love remains such a compelling subject in her music, even when she chooses to keep her present circumstances private.