Luke Bryan Heard a Rumor He’s the Father of Maren Morris’ Baby

As one of country music’s biggest stars, Luke Bryan is used to reading all kinds of wild rumors about himself in tabloids — but hearing that he might be the father of Maren Morris‘ one-year-old son, Hayes, was one story that caught even the seasoned music industry veteran by surprise.

“So I’m having coffee and my mother calls me,” Bryan recounts with a grin during a Tuesday morning (May 4) stop on Ellen. ”And she goes, ‘I’m sitting here reading some gossip thing … and it says you fathered Maren Morris’ child.'”

“I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I do not need this today,'” he tells Ellen DeGeneres.

The “gossip thing” in question is, in fact, British tabloid newspaper The Sun, which published an April 23 article that named Bryan as Morris’ husband. That has since been corrected, but per Wide Open Country, the story originally read, “Earlier this month the hot mama, who gave birth to her first child with husband Luke Bryan in March 2020, shared a thoughtful post about her post-baby body.”

Fortunately, both Bryan and Morris seemed to get a good laugh out of the whole situation. The “The Bones” star posted a screenshot of the article to her Instagram Story after it ran, commenting, “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

But perhaps even more hilariously, Bryan’s immediate reaction after hearing the rumor from his mom was to contact Morris’ actual husband, Ryan Hurd. Not only is Hurd the real father of baby Hayes, but he’s also an accomplished singer-songwriter who co-wrote Bryan’s just-released new single “Waves” with Zach Crowell and Chase McGill.

“I shared it from my mother straight to Ryan, and I said, ‘Buddy, I think we need to talk,'” Bryan adds with a giggle, before turning to the Ellen audience and assuming a serious look on his face. “I am not the father. We can call Maury Povich in, or however y’all wanna go about it.”

After Bryan’s interview aired on Tuesday, Morris put her stamp of approval on her fellow country star’s statement, adding, “Thanks for clearing this one up” on Twitter, alongside an emoji of a laughing face with tears streaming down its cheeks.