Jana Kramer talks for a living on her podcast, but her marriage with Allan Russell is rarely a topic — and that’s on purpose.
“We say some things on the podcast because it’s, like, fun and funny, but you know, [there’s] just certain things we want to protect [in] our marriage and our relationship,” Kramer, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, May 27, while promoting her new Lifetime movie, Where the Heart Lands. “And that’s where I don’t want to go too much into detail.”
The “Whine Down” podcast host explained that when she does talk about certain topics on the broadcast, “people pick things up and then it becomes a thing,” which she confessed is usually something that she “didn’t want.”
Kramer noted that during her marriage to Mike Caussin, which ended in April 2021 after six years, she and Caussin, 39, openly discussed their highs and lows together on the podcast.
“We all know the last relationship we talked so much and that was kind of our thing,” she recalled. “But there’s not that [type of drama] to talk about in this new relationship.”
Kramer — who shares daughter Jolie, 10, and son Jace, 7, with Caussin — explained that her rocky relationship with her ex-husband is the opposite of how she and Russell, 45, are as partners.
“Any of our issues [are] just normal married life things that we would argue about,” she said of her and Russell’s dynamic. “I don’t feel like that needs to be spoken about all the time.”
While Kramer, who shares a 2-year-old son, Roman, with Russell, pointed out that “there’s no perfect marriage,” her current relationship is thriving outside the limelight.
“I’m very blessed, and just the respect level of this relationship and marriage is what I admire, and what I want to keep,” she gushed.
Kramer, who has been acting since the early 2000s, told Us that when Russell, a retired Scottish soccer player, first came into her life, it was an adjustment for him.
“In the beginning, it was tough, because I mean, there are things that I talk about that he didn’t understand, like, why I would [need to] talk about it,” Kramer recalled. “I’m like, ‘I’m very open with some things that I talk about,’ but it helped me be more mindful of the things that I needed to also hold tight too within our four walls.”
The “I Got the Boy” singer said that she and Russell have learned what makes the other comfortable, including which topics she needs to avoid discussing publicly.
“He’s just in the soccer world, and he’s just more of a private person, and I want to respect that,” Kramer shared. “And now, honestly, I have so much respect for people that do want to keep things more tight to their chest.”
Kramer added that since marrying Russell in January 2024, their love has only grown — even with all the mayhem they face at home with three kids under one roof.
“He’s an amazing partner. He’s such a great stepdad too, and then obviously, father to our kiddo,” she gushed. “But yes, I mean, [we’re] still very much in love.”
Kramer told Us that with the kids all running in different directions, she and Russell bought a lake house in Alabama as their own sanctuary.
“We have to make sure that we keep investing in our relationship too, and having that slow down time, and connecting, and stuff,” she said of their vacation home. “But we do weekly check-ins, and that’s probably our best thing to just stay connected.”
Kramer’s weekly check-ins come in handy when she’s away for work, which was the case last May when she filmed Where the Heart Lands, premiering on Saturday, May 30.
Kramer told Us that the new film, which Haylie Duff directed and cowrote, was an easy sell on her end after Duff, 41, called her directly about the role of horse trainer Charlie.
“She’s like, ‘It’s gonna be beautiful, and we’re gonna shoot it in Kentucky, so you’ll be close to your babies.’ She’s like, ‘I’m directing it [and] I really want you to be a part of it,’” Kramer recalled of the casting process. “And when I read the script, I’m like, ‘It’s everything that you want, right?’ It’s got the conflict. It’s got a little bit of drama. It’s got horses, and I just knew Haylie was going to take it into a beautiful direction with her directing.”
In Where the Heart Lands, Kramer said she plays a female horse trainer, which is a rarity in the field.
“She’s got a reputation that she has to uphold,” the actress teased of her character. “And the love interest, [played by] Tyler [Johnson], comes in. He inherits the farm and the land that I’m working on, so he comes in and struggles with what to do. But he might find love along the way with me and the horses.”
Where the Heart Lands premieres on Lifetime Saturday, May 30, at 8 p.m. ET.
