Michael Ray is opening up about the challenges of last year, including his divorce from Carly Pearce after less than a year of marriage. The Florida native admits he made mistakes, but says that he has learned to accept who he is, imperfections and all.

“I’m human,” Ray told People. “For a long time, I just wanted everything to be right. But I’m not perfect and my family is not perfect, and my friends aren’t perfect…nobody’s perfect. And instead of being ashamed of that, I’ve started to embrace it now.”

Ray, who just released his telling EP, Higher Education, is eager to move forward in every way, including with his new music.

“I think I’ll be coming out of this year actually better than I went into it,” Ray reflects. “In every way, I’m more confident than I’ve ever been and more accepting of things than I’ve ever been. You have no other choice but to grow and be better.”

The challenges of 2020 including both his divorce and the pandemic, ultimately made him more confident, as an artist and a person.

“Basically, this is what I have to offer,” Ray says. “And it’s going to be great for some and for some, we just ain’t going to fit. But this is where I am at. And I’ve honestly never felt better. I’ve never felt more confident. I’ve never felt more connected with my friends. I’ve never felt such a great one-on-one connection with someone else. I feel like I’ve got my vision back. I feel like I lost it for a little while. There was a time of my life where I felt like I was just crossing off boxes…but not anymore.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.