Brad Paisley Dated Fellow Singer While Being Unaware of Her Sexuality & Her Affair with a Woman

Country singers Brad Paisley and Chely Wright dated previously without him knowing about her sexuality. Find out about their relationship and how Wright feels about hurting Paisley's feelings.

Brad Paisley is a country singer who has sold over 11 million albums worldwide. He is also a three-time Grammy Awards winner and has 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards.

Meanwhile, Chely Wright is also a country music artist who rose to prominence after releasing several hit songs that reached global music charts.

Being country musicians is not the only thing Wright and Paisley have in common. The singers once dated each other. However, while Paisley loved Wright, her heart belonged to another woman.

Paisley did not know about Wright's sexuality and felt hurt when he found out. Wright regretted hurting him, too, and shared the story of their love in her memoir. Find out more about their relationship and what they are up to now.

HOW PAISLEY AND WRIGHT MET

Wright opened up about her affair with Paisley in the pages of her highly-revealing memoir "Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer." According to her, they met in 1999 and became songwriting partners. However, their relationship took a romantic turn.

Wright pushed Paisley away and refused to answer his phone calls, and they lost contact afterward. However, they reconnected a year later and became lovers.

Wright revealed that she and Paisley began to be involved on a different level romantically and had so much in common. They also shared a sense of responsibility to be good role models.

She added that neither she nor Paisley had ever done drugs in their lives. Also, they had not tried smoking except for his occasional cigar. She also loved that he did not drink alcohol.

Wright further wrote that Paisley had a strong faith. She said they did not agree with some of each other's religious beliefs but had mutual respect for themselves.

After becoming romantically involved, Wright and Paisley started touring together, and it did not take long before the media began to suspect that they were an item.

The media's suspicions did not bother Paisley as Wright wrote that he loved the attention they were getting as a suspected couple.

DEALING WITH REALITY

Paisley's love for Wright was very much obvious. He was not worried about the attention and media scrutiny they were receiving. Instead, he told her he was having trouble not shouting his love for her from the rooftops.

However, while Paisley was madly in love with Wright, she did not entirely feel the same way. She wrote that there were many ways she loved him, but she was not in love with him. Hence, she was tortured by her reality.

Wright revealed that being physical with Paisley did not come quickly or easily because she was gay and in love with another woman.

She disclosed that she often cried when she and Paisley were physically intimate. However, she did not know what he felt or believed was the reason for her tears.

Eventually, the relationship started becoming very serious, and Wright knew she had to end it when Paisley started talking about marriage just before her 30th birthday in October 2000.

Hence, she refused to talk to him and declined his calls. One night, Paisley sat confused and cried in his truck outside Wright's home in Nashville, Tennessee. Meanwhile, she was inside taking a long bath and refused to come to the door.

During an interview with Oprah.com, Wright expressed regret about how she treated some of the men she dated, particularly Paisley.

She expressed regret for how their relationship began and ended and added that she had no business dating him. Wright revealed that when she started dating Paisley, her relationship with her female lover, Julia, was falling apart.

Hence, she made a deal with herself and agreed to forgo love and find someone she liked and was comfortable enough to share a life with. As things turned out, Paisley was that person. Yet, their relationship was not to be.

WRIGHT'S COMING OUT AND REGRETS

In her memoir, Wright eventually came out as a lesbian, which she released in 2010. However, she has never shied away from expressing her regrets and guilt for hurting Paisley despite coming out.

Wright dedicated two chapters of her book to Paisley. In those chapters, she revealed details of their relationship and how she left him without any reason.

While chatting with CMT, Wright revealed that Paisley did not know she was a lesbian and was not involved in any cover-up. She also admitted:

"At that time, I caused incredible hurt and pain to Brad. I regret it very much. It's one of the great regrets of my life, and I needed to write that down..."

In her chat with Oprah.com, Wright also noted that it is wrong to do anything with someone you're not meant to be with.

She added that being with someone when one wants to be with someone else is wrong and admitted she wronged Paisley. Wright also said:

"I damaged [Paisley], and I hope he forgives me. I hope this fills in some emotional gaps for him. I'm assuming he's happy and moved on, but I would welcome any chance [to talk to him]."

In her memoir, Wright also revealed she had cried a million tears about how she hurt Paisley. She said she was ashamed of herself for being cruel to another human being and hoped her book would help him understand that period in their lives.

HOW THEY ENDED UP

Wright and Paisley did not end up being together, but they found happiness with other people. Wright married her girlfriend, Lauren Blitzer, in August 2011.

Theirs was a beautiful marriage in which they both wore Jose Dias-designed white wedding gowns. Over 200 people attended the nuptials held at Blitzer's aunt's home in Connecticut.

Like Wright, Blitzer is an LGBT Civil Rights activist. She is also Sony Music's marketing director. They met two weeks after Wright came out.

In January 2013, Wright and Blitzer announced they were expecting identical twins. Wright gave birth to twin boys named George and Samuel in May 2013.

Meanwhile, Paisley has been married to Kimberly Wiliams since March 15, 2003. The couple shares two sons, William Huckleberry, born on February 22, 2007, and Jasper Warren, born on April 17, 2009.

Although things did not work out romantically for Wright and Paisley, it is great that they ended up with partners they love and are living happy lives today.