NEED TO KNOW
Ruston Kelly is engaged!
The singer-songwriter, 37, announced the exciting news on Instagram on Wednesday, Oct. 15, sharing that he proposed to Tia Cubelic before his performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
“Backstage at the @opry last month me and my best bud became best buds who are getting MARRIED,” Kelly captioned his announcement post, which featured six engagement photos and a video from the concert.
“The most important thing I think that happened to me right after that was meeting my now-partner, and I would say that she’s my girlfriend but she’s not because I just proposed to her backstage,” Kelly said in the video clip as the crowd erupted in applause.
Chris Hershman
He continued, “Her family’s here, my family’s here. And right under a picture of Johnny Cash, I had to pop the question.”
The engagement photos showcase Kelly and Cubelic embracing backstage and celebrating with family just moments after the proposal. The bride-to-be also flashed her new sparkling diamond ring.
“We couldn’t be more excited to share this news!” the couple tells PEOPLE in a statement.
Kelly is currently on tour for his new album, Pale, Through the Window.
“His new fiancée was a driving force behind each and every track,” a press release states. “Across 13 tracks, Kelly captures a season of radical change, newfound joy, and hard-won peace, pairing deeply personal lyricism with an expansive sonic landscape. Produced by longtime collaborator Jarrad K and recorded live with his touring band at Chateau Noir, the album merges shimmering synths, sweeping pedal steel (performed by his father Tim “TK” Kelly), emo-tinged guitars, and Kelly’s raw vocal intensity.”
While chatting with PEOPLE in September, Kelly shared he’s now writing from a place of “love.” He said, “To me, I just write about whatever’s going on in my life, and I definitely am writing from a place of gratitude and love and feeling pretty solid.”
Cubelic was with Kelly every step of the way through the album development. She plays violin on “House in the Country,” about the couple’s dream to own a country home, and is credited with background vocals on three songs.
Chris Hershman
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Kelly met Cubelic while on a family vacation in June 2024. Even though the duo met in South Carolina, the pair soon learned they lived just eight minutes apart in Nashville — as if it was meant to be.
Kelly was previously married to pop-country superstar Kacey Musgraves. The former couple wed in October 2017 and called in quits in July 2020.
