Jennifer Nettles And Kristian Bush: A Look At The Sugarland Duo's Relationship

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have been a package deal for what seems like forever, but what do we know about the Sugarland duo's relationship?

As longtime Sugarland fans will likely remember, the band wasn't always a duo. In fact, for the first four years of its existence, Nettles and Bush were part of a trio, as Kristen Hall was one of the co-founders. Hall ultimately walked away from the band in 2006, citing touring as a major reason why. "The requirements of performing on the road do not allow time to focus on relationships with other writers and recording artists essential for me to do what I do best — songwriting," she said in a statement. Two years later, a lawsuit ensued, with Hall accusing her former bandmates of not sharing their profits with her since her exit. The matter was ultimately settled in 2010, though the terms have never been made public. 

Drama aside, since Hall's departure, Nettles and Bush have been nearly synonymous with one another. In fact, even after putting the band on pause back in 2012, the musicians have found their way back to each other, and today, they're going strong. It's pretty safe to say, then, that they've got a great working relationship. Our question remains, though: what more do we know about their personal bond? 

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have never been involved romantically, but that's not to say they don't share a special kind of intimacy. 

In fact, on an episode of "Today," Nettles explained to Hoda Kotb that the creative aspect of their relationship has made them super close. "There is definitely a relative intimacy that happens with that, you know?" she explained. In an interview with Green Bay Press Gazette, Bush shared a similar sentiment, though he pointed out that their particular dynamic was pretty unique, compared to what he was used to. Speaking of the album that took them mere days to write and record, he explained, "There's something really simpatico about the way we create. I don't do it with anyone else that way." It's no surprise, then, that he referred to their working relationship as "deeply comforting." 

That said, both Bush and Nettles have spoken about being respectful of one another's family time. As Nettles told Kotb, they don't hang out much outside work, unless the extended brood was involved, too. "We work together so much, it's not like we're, like, 'Hey, let's go hang out and have dinner' ... we're busy with our families," she explained. Likewise, speaking to BYT, Bush revealed that, though their tour bus had never been particularly raucous to begin with, touring with Nettles as a new mom only added to that. "When someone raises their family, you have to respect them," he said.

Given how grounded this duo appears to be, it probably isn't all that surprising that, when they parted ways in the early 2010s, there was no animosity between them. 

Jennifer Nettles touched on the public perception that there had been tension in ABC's "Country's Biggest Music Stars: In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts." "It's fascinating, people's connection to drama and scandal, and wanting to, you know, say that it was a breakup. You know, it was never that — we wanted to go fill our cups," the CMT award-winner explained. That included solo work for both of them — and, of course, Nettles becoming a mother. 

That said, Bush also admitted that when it came to the creative side of their relationship, they did, indeed, have a clean break. Speaking to Taste of Country, Bush explained that while they kept in touch personally, "We had a built-in thing that prevented us from creating. Because if I was to write on a Jennifer record, it wouldn't be her music. And same thing, vice versa." A few months later, he doubled down on that, in an interview with AZ Central. "You could sit us down and say, 'Jennifer, Kristian, we want you to write a theme song for this movie.' And no matter what came out, it would be a Sugarland song," he joked. It's pretty clear that these bandmates have their relationship down to a fine art.