Back in late 2022, when fans got to know Megan Moroney as the singer behind the viral hit “Tennessee Orange,” there was one burning question on their minds: Was it a love song about Morgan Wallen?
There were certainly a few points that led credence to the theory. “Tennessee Orange” is all about a man who supports the Tennessee Volunteers, first of all, and it’s well documented that Wallen is a major Vols fan. He’s got blues eyes, just like the man the lyrics describe, and there were a few flirty social media exchanges between Wallen and Moroney around the time the song came out.
But fans never knew for sure, and Moroney never confirmed it — until now.
On a Wednesday (July 31) episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, host Alex Cooper asked Moroney point-blank if she and Wallen were ever an item.
“Never exclusively,” Moroney replies, breaking out into laughter. “… and I have so tried to avoid that in every single interview I’ve ever done. But we’re here now and time has passed and all is well, so.”
It seems that Moroney and Wallen were never in a serious relationship, but they did date, and Moroney puts the timestamp on their beginnings sometime in early 2020.
“Okay, here’s what I’ll tell you, though, because I haven’t told anyone this ever,” Moroney explains. “So him and I met in 2020 — Jon Langston actually introduced us. I was a senior in college. COVID hadn’t happened yet. His Dangerous album wasn’t even out yet.”
“So we were friends for a long time. So we’ve — it’s, what, 2024? That was 2020. So we were friends for a long time,” she continues. “We were not just friends. And now we’re friends.”
Moroney goes on to say that they kept things private during that time, and that it wasn’t “that hard” to keep things under wraps.
“Like I said, we weren’t exclusively dating ever,” she points out.
“And I think both of our schedules … when we try to hang out, it’s like, ‘Okay, we have this one day of the whole month where we’re both maybe in town and the someone’s got something going on,” she says. “But him and I are friends.”
As for whether or not “Tennessee Orange” really is about Wallen? That’s a secret Moroney will keep.
“I will not say what my songs are about ever,” she tells Cooper, adding that she has “no idea” if any of Wallen’s songs are about her, either.
Moroney’s sophomore album, Am I Ok?, debuted inside the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this month.
Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!
Top 20 Songs of 2024, Ranked (So Far)
New country artists rule this Top Country Songs of 2024 list, but that doesn’t mean traditional country isn’t represented early and often.
Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music’s Top 20 Songs of 2024, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were most influential.
Songs included on previous Top Country Songs lists were not eligible. A song may have been released in 2023, but it had to have the majority of recorded airplay or impact this year to count.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes