Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd’s early relationship was professional, not romantic, in nature. According to Pure Wow, Tim McGraw brought them together as they met while co-penning a song for him. The eventual couple also collaborated throughout their courtship and marriage, penning records including “Circles Around This Town,” “All My Favorite People,” and “Pass It On,” per Billboard, for themselves and other artists. During a May 2022 interview with People, the couple gushed about their extensive collaboration history. “It feels like, right now, we’re doing a ton of music stuff together and I really enjoy that,” Hurd said. “It’s been really an awesome little period of time for us.”
While both parties seemed happy to collaborate at the time, it’s possible that working together constantly, on top of living and raising a family together, was simply too much stress on their relationship. And while songs are often fictional in nature, we must also add that their song, “Chasing After You,” featured lyrics about a couple cycling through an on-again, off-again romance. “But I know, yeah I know it’s a matter of time / ‘Till you walk, ’till you walk back out of my life,” Hurd sings (via Genius). Were these lyrics a reflection of their private dynamic or just a super sad coincidence?