Maddie & Tae announce they're splitting up but refuse to label it a 'breakup'
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Country duo Maddie & Tae have shaken their fanbase with a deeply personal announcement made during an interview with People.
After 15 years of performing, recording and growing up together, Maddie Marlow Font and Tae Dye Kerr revealed they are stepping back from releasing new music as a duo but insist they are not breaking up.
Maddie & Tae pause after 15 years of music, milestones and motherhood
What struck fans most wasn’t the news itself, but how tenderly both women spoke about closing this chapter, at least for now. “We’re leaving this so open-ended because, you know, we might make another record one day,” Maddie told People. “We might go do some tour dates one day.”
It was the kind of statement that felt hopeful and heartbreaking all at once, a signal that while the music is pausing, the friendship isn’t going anywhere.
The duo, who first met in 2010 and burst onto the scene with their No 1 debut single “Girl in a Country Song” in 2014, have built a career defined by resilience. Four albums, four EPs, and more than two dozen award nominations later, they’ve grown into wives, mothers and artists with very different personal seasons ahead of them.
Tae Dye Kerr steps back for family
For Tae, the decision came from a place of honesty. Now a mother of two - Leighton, 3, and Chapel, 13 months - she shared that the choice to step away from music for now “was the only dream I’ve ever had since I exited the womb,” but also called the shift “heartbreaking.”
“Life changes, and there are seasons where your family needs you more,” she said. Her new dream? “To be the best wife and mother and homemaker I can.”
Maddie, who shares son Forrest, 2, with husband Jonah Font, had nothing but admiration for her partner’s shift. “I’m a mother, too, so I totally understand the pull,” she said. “Motherhood is so hard and so beautiful, and there’s no one right way to do it.”
Maddie embarks on solo career with ‘a fire the size of Texas’
While Tae focuses on home life, Maddie is kicking off a solo chapter, joking that she has “a fire the size of Texas under my a-- that just will not go out.” She credited her husband for being a stay-at-home dad, making it possible for her to “keep doing what I love.”
Still, Maddie made one thing unmistakably clear: “Even though we’re not gonna go on this journey as Maddie & Tae together, we’re still walking and doing life together outside of it.”
She added that nurturing their friendship, without the pressure of touring, recording or constant deadlines, might be the most meaningful part of this next era.
The duo reassures fans
Both artists emphasized that the door is wide open for future music. They even announced the news on their shared Instagram, reinforcing that while the brand may be pausing, the bond is not.
As Maddie put it: “We have this opportunity to be an example of both sides - both beautiful and wonderful.”
