Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris’ divorce proceedings are seemingly moving forward after Hurd finished his court-mandated parenting class.
Hurd’s attorney filed a “certificate of completion” with Tennessee’s third circuit court for Davidson County in Nashville, Tennesse, on Wednesday, December 20, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly.
The docs confirmed that Hurd, 37, has taken the parenting course as “required” by Tenn. Code Ann § 36-6-408, which states, “Each parent shall attend a parent educational seminar as soon as possible after the filing of the complaint” in which “a permanent parenting plan is or will be entered.”
The class was a four-hour seminar run by the Parenting Skills Institute for “divorcing parents, coparents, single parents and parents with custodial issues,” per the filing. The topics covered included “divorce and its effects on the family,” “anger between parents,” “the stages of grief” and more.
Us confirmed two months prior that Morris, 33, filed for divorce on October 2 after five years of marriage. The date listed on her petition of separation matches the date she filed.
The breakup came as a surprise to many country music fans as Hurd and Morris have been a dynamic duo in the music industry since meeting in 2014. After connecting while cowriting Tim McGraw’s “Last Turn Home,” the pair’s relationship turned romantic in 2015.
The twosome tied the knot in March 2018 and welcomed their son, Hayes, two years later. They gushed about one another publicly for years, with Hurd even defending his now-estranged wife via Instagram in September as she declared her step away from country music. Following their split, a source exclusively told Us in October that Hurd “wasn’t expecting” Morris to file for divorce.
Morris broke her silence on her breakup earlier this month, joking that she “cut all the trauma out of my hair” with her new short bob.
“I think this year has — for a lot of people, not just me — a lot of people that are close to me have gone through it. I’ve known so many people that have gone through breakups or divorces,” she said during her December 13 appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.
She noted at the time that her divorce is “ongoing,” admitting, “I would like this to sort of wrap up.”
When asked about future relationships, Morris explained, “I don’t have the headspace for that yet. But I’m writing so much right now. That’s kind of been my way of dating, is just through song.”
Morris previously told Entertainment Tonight that she was ready to focus on herself as we edge toward the new year. “[I’m] not answering to anyone and not having to protect anyone’s feelings but my own and put myself first,” she explained on December 2. “And I think that’s going to be a really empowering 2024.”
Hurd has not publicly commented on the end of his marriage. However, he has taken back-to-back trips this month to seemingly reset. “Hi from the beach,” he captioned a series of Instagram photos on December 3 while in the Bahamas.
Nearly two weeks later, he teased, “Hi from the mountains 🏔️,” on December 16 after jetting off to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
