Maren Morris Opens Up About Struggling to 'Find the Forest Through the Trees' While Experiencing Postpartum Depression

Maren Morris may be known as a Grammy, American Music, and Country Music Association award-winning singer and songwriter, but she’s also quite famous for her outspoken candor on divisive and taboo topics — postpartum depression (PPD) being one of them.

During a recent “Sunday Sitdown” interview with TODAY’s Willie Geist, the musical maven opened up about her experience with PPD following the birth of her son, Hayes, in March 2020. “I think a lot of identity crises happened there,” she said of becoming a mom in the midst of the global coronavirus outbreak.

She explained, “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.”

Morris shared that making music with her husband, fellow singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd, is ultimately what helped her to overcome PPD and the added darkness from the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was like, ‘Can we just please write something light to pull me out of this pandemic doldrum? I don’t wanna, you know, sit in the ashes very long here.’ He kind of just helped me in song form, and in just conversation form, figure out how to get to the light.”

And speaking of the aforementioned divisive topics that Morris uses her platform to speak on, including the need for abortion rights and gun control, making country music a more diverse and welcoming space, protecting transgender youth, and more, the 32-year-old explained why she’s so passionate about standing up for major social issues.

“I think it’s gotten more galvanized since I’ve had my son, that I am really trying to make something beyond music,” Morris shared. “I want people to look around at my shows and realize, ‘OK, this is really loving, and safe, and comfortable.’ No matter what walk of life, where you come from, I want you to be able to be safe at my show, and I’m willing to be uncomfortable to do that,” she said. The world could use more leaders like this country crooning mama.

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