Here's What We Know About Ruston Kelly's New Girlfriend Tori Barnes

Singer and songwriter Ruston Kelly got his big break in the music industry in 2013 after signing a publishing deal with BMG Nashville, but it wasn’t long before his drug addiction stopped him in his tracks. After a near-fatal overdose, Ruston met fellow songwriter Kacey Musgraves at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tenn., and the rest was history.

The two went on to get engaged on Christmas Eve of 2016 and married the following year. But in late 2020, they announced that they were divorcing due to irreconcilable differences, and it didn’t take them long to find out that there are plenty of other fish in the sea. So, who is Ruston Kelly’s new girlfriend?

Not long after ending his marriage with Kacey, Ruston made it clear that he was back on the market. Ruston and his new girlfriend, Tori Barnes made their relationship Instagram official in May of 2021, less than a year after his divorce.

According to her Facebook profile, Tori attended school at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where she currently lives, but she originally hails from Fort Meyers, Fla. Details on what appears to be Tori’s LinkedIn profile indicate that she graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Business and her Instagram shows that she now makes a living as a model.

Although not much is known about how the couple’s relationship began, over the last few months, the two of them have gotten extremely cozy — even celebrating Ruston’s birthday together in late July. And according to Tori, they had a pretty great time.

Tori wrote in a sentimental birthday tribute to her boyfriend on Instagram, “Was having too much fun yesterday to do a post and a post doesn’t do you justice anyways. Happy birthday to the brightest light in my life and to many others. There’s no one else I’d rather break my nose on our first date with. Celebrating you is fun.”

But Tori isn’t the only woman that Ruston has reportedly dated since his divorce. In December of 2020, Ruston was spotted with actress Olivia Munn. The two sparked rumors after they were seen on social media playing cards and eating macarons with friends, but neither party confirmed that their relationship was anything but platonic. Anyway, what happened between Kacey and Ruston?

Ruston and Kacey announced their split in a joint announcement to the Associated Press where the two claimed to have “a soul connection that can never be erased.” According to the statement, the split between the songwriters was amicable, but Kacey's 2021 album "Star-Crossed" suggests otherwise.

Contrary to popular belief, Kacey confirmed that her latest project is not a compilation of diss tracks. The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards performer told NPR, “You can easily say it is a post-divorce album, which yes it is factually on paper. But this album is full of a lot of love and gratitude for that person, for Ruston, for my life, and my ability to explore all the emotions as a songwriter.”