Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Dating Maren Morris and Perfect Match Star Justin Assada Are Newly Dating (Exclusive Source) Morris recently told PEOPLE she was "enjoying dating for the first time" in her life By Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 2, 2024 05:40PM EDT Maren Morris; Justin Assada. Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Maren Morris is moving on! The Grammy-winning singer is newly dating Netflix reality star Justin Assada, a source confirms to PEOPLE. Assada first sent the rumor mill churning on Wednesday, Aug. 28, when he shared a photo of himself seemingly on a date with Morris, who split from ex-husband Ryan Hurd in October 2023, The Perfect Match star, 27, posted a photo to his Instagram Story of the "Push Me Over" singer, 34, sitting casually across from him at an upscale restaurant and sipping a drink. “Scary movies + Sushi 😫,” he captioned the Story. Reps for the pair did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Assada is best known for his appearances on the competition series Surviving Paradise in 2023 and the second season of the dating series Perfect Match, which aired earlier this summer. Justin Assada's Instagram Story post. Justin Assada/Instagram Maren Morris Reveals Her Dating Rule After Divorce & Says Future Partner Needs to 'Have Your S--- Together' (Exclusive) In July, he appeared on Harry Jowsey’s Boyfriend Material podcast, and revealed that he’d recently moved to Los Angeles from his native Massachusetts — and was enjoying the boost the big move gave his love life. When Jowsey asked if he was seeing anyone and joked about him having a date planned with an unnamed “superstar,” Assada said his appearance on reality TV had certainly boosted his profile. “I went from bottom of the barrel Hinge dates in Boston and then all of a sudden the show comes out and there’s these people that I used to watch on TV or like, listen to their music growing up, not to sound too conceited, but they’re in my DMs,” he said. “And now I’m out here and I’m going on a pretty crazy date Thursday with someone that’s like, it blows my mind. But yeah for right now, I’m just exploring the field and kind of just navigating it.” While Assada didn’t name his mystery paramour, Morris previously revealed on Cosmopolitan’s Cheap Shots that she was on the celebrity dating app Raya. The “Circles Around This Town” singer finalized her divorce from Hurd in January after nearly six years of marriage, and came out as bisexual in June. Maren Morris in New York City in May 2023. Taylor Hill/WireImage Maren Morris Confronted Her Life as a Child Performer During a Mushroom Trip: 'It Was a Nightmare' She told PEOPLE last month that she’s “really, really happy” at the moment, and would only consider dating “a spectacularly impressive individual [who could] add something to my life.” "I love my career, I love my baby [son Hayes, 4, with Hurd], I love my home, I love my friends,” she said. “Those are all things that matter to me, and those are self-made. I only will allow someone to come into my life if they amplify any of it. They can't be a net negative. They can't drain my resources, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Financially, emotionally, spiritually. You truly have to have your s--- together to be any part of my life at this point.” Morris added that she’s been “enjoying dating for the first time” in her life, and that while putting herself back out there has been “tougher than you think,” she’s “excited.” “This part of myself is the most confident and just not taking herself too seriously, so it is the perfect moment to be dating," she said. "My rules are just you have to be really spectacular to push me over." Close