Maren Morris Says It's 'Tough' Playing Songs Inspired by Ex Ryan Hurd — Why She Still Doesn't 'Regret' Them (Exclusive)

Maren Morris knows that sometimes, the show must go on.

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, the Grammy winner reveals that singing songs inspired by her ex-husband Ryan Hurd can sting — but she has no regrets.

"There's obviously a space to exist for songs that you wrote about a love of your life," Morris, 34, tells PEOPLE. "In some ways, I don't want to say I go into autopilot for songs like that to not feel the pain, but it is what it is. Those are songs that are meaningful and are meaningful to people, so that's such a gift."

The "Push Me Over" singer and fellow singer-songwriter Hurd, 37, first met in 2013 when they co-wrote a track for Tim McGraw. They began dating in 2016, married in 2018 and welcomed son Hayes, 4, before Morris filed for divorce last October, citing irreconcilable differences. (They finalized their divorce in January.)

Before their split, Morris and Hurd continued to collaborate together over the years. He was her muse for multiple songs on her GIRL and Humble Quest albums, and they were even nominated for a Grammy for their 2021 duet "Chasing After You."

"I don't really look back on them with shame or regret," she says of songs Hurd inspired and that they worked on together. "It's like, 'That was a really beautiful time, and I truly felt that way when I wrote it; it didn't work out in the long run, but the song still matters."

Last fall, Morris performed an intimate show at Bowery Ballroom in New York City, where she played the Hurd-inspired "Background Music" upon a fan's request.

"Im not going to lie, that's a tough song to sing now," says Morris, who asks for fan input for the setlist of her current RSVP Redux tour.

However, some tracks have new significance, she says: "Weirdly, when I sing 'The Bones,' that song just naturally, over the years, has taken on such new meanings for me just professionally and personally."

Morris just released her new EP Intermission on Aug. 2. On the genre-bending record, Morris sorts through her divorce and how she's moved on.

“This feels like an amazing journey of discovery,” she says, “and also the heartbreak of the death of a relationship and what fun and joy you find in the aftermath of a trauma or a tragedy like that.”

And while the divorce inspired cathartic tracks like "I Hope I Never Fall in Love" and "This Is How a Woman Leaves," Morris maintains she's focused on co-parenting Hayes with Hurd.

“I never want to disparage or feel the need to, because I think that we both have so much love for each other and our son, so anything musically that’s coming out is our points of view, and we need to process in our own ways,” she says. “This is my turn. I am just moving on in the ways I know I can.”

For more on Maren Morris and her new EP, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.