Maren Morris says she had some hesitations about putting out music that fans would link to her divorce from her ex-husband, fellow singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd.

In a new episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Morris points specifically to a song called “This Is How a Woman Leaves,” which appears on her Intermission EP — the first project she’s put out since she and Hurd finalized their split in January 2024.

“I was a little bit nervous just to put that out,” she says of the song. “Not because it’s untrue to me, but because I’m not in the business of malintent.”

“I never want to write a song to f–k someone over or hurt anyone,” she adds.

In recent country music history, artists like Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce have released personal and true-to-life albums full of music about their respective divorces. So it makes sense that listeners would be parsing Morris’ new lyrics for insight into her breakup, which came as a shock to fans when the singer first filed for divorce in Oct. 2023 after five-and-a-half years of marriage.

Morris and Hurd have stayed friendly after their split, occasionally appearing together in social media posts as they co-parent their 4-year-old son, Hayes. “I mean, we’re getting it together, but the co-parenting thing has been going well, and we’re trying our best in this way,” she explains during her Armchair Expert appearance.

Ultimately, Morris says, she decided to release “This Is How a Woman Leaves” because she knew it would be a cathartic and healing experience onstage, both for her and for her fans.

“I can’t control people’s perceptions of the song that they’re hearing of mine,” she admits. “With [‘This Is How a Woman Leaves,’] I could just picture a healing that would happen live.

“If I’m writing the song and I can already envision it live and just crying with strangers, when I go to shows and I’m just a patron in the crowd, the most special thing is just bonding with a bunch of strangers,” she adds.

Intermission arrived in early August.

Maren Morris, “This Is How a Woman Leaves” Lyrics:

Close your eyes and listen to me closely / Like you used to know me / Now you don’t / Smile at me like you understand me / You don’t understand me / You don’t

I won’t leave the room for you to wonder what I meant when I said it / ‘Cause I meant it when I said it / Look me in the eyes now, I’m gonna say goodbye now / Don’t pretend that you’re gonna forget it

Chorus:

This is how a woman leaves / If this is how it’s gonna be now / I’ll go where you can’t follow me / And you can’t call / And you can’t say anything / This is how a woman leaves

I can run faster than you can / I can hold the whole truth better than any man / I can stand tall, I can free fall / I can break through with my back up against the wall

Repeat Chorus

This is where it’s gonna end / Not gonna try to be your friend /All I want is you to get / Out of my heart, out of my head

This is how a woman leaves / Even though it’s killing me, I’ll make it look so easy / That even I believe me / Oh, oh / Go ahead and look me in the eye / Oh, oh / Go ahead, pretend that you’re surprised

Repeat Chorus

You have the nerve to ask why I’m not crying / I did all my crying lying next to you