Love was in the air, and backstage, at the Grand Ole Opry last month! Singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly, 37, has announced his engagement to girlfriend Tia Cubelic, sharing the sweet news with fans on Instagram on Wednesday, October 15.
The proposal? As romantic and country as it gets. “Backstage at the @opry last month me and my best bud became best buds who are getting MARRIED,” Kelly captioned his post, which included six dreamy engagement photos and a clip from the show.
In the video, filmed live during his September 24 performance at the iconic Nashville venue, Kelly opened up to the crowd, “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.”
He added, “Her family’s here, my family’s here. And right under a picture of Johnny Cash, I had to pop the question.”
The newly engaged couple posed for photos backstage as Cubelic showed off her stunning diamond ring.
Kelly and Cubelic first met in June 2024 during a family vacation in South Carolina. Although the meeting was spontaneous, fate quickly took the wheel when they discovered they lived just eight minutes apart in Nashville.
Kelly, known for blending Americana, folk and a genre he calls “dirt emo,” is currently on tour for his new album, Pale, Through the Window. According to a press release, Cubelic played a pivotal role in inspiring the music.
“His new fiancée was a driving force behind each and every track,” the release notes. “Across 13 tracks, Kelly captures a season of radical change, newfound joy, and hard-won peace …”
Before finding love with Cubelic, Kelly was married to Grammy-winning country star Kacey Musgraves. The two wed in 2017 and divorced in 2020.
