The Biggest Rumors About Carrie Underwood We Can't Ignore

When Carrie Underwood first started her career, she was the girl from a farm who could cluck like a chicken, but things have certainly changed. She's gone on to be a multi-award-winning star with a lavish lifestyle to boot — but that's not all. Unfortunately, with a major public profile comes criticism, and Underwood has also become the subject of a number of rumors. 

Underwood first spoke about the rumors about her personal life in 2008, after the news broke that she and "Gossip Girl" actor Chace Crawford had broken up. Though she didn't deny they'd dated, she began by pointing out that the relationship had been hyped up by the press way more than it should have been. "People always make a lot bigger deal of things that they actually are," she told Extra (via People). Of course, that was also pre-social media, and celebrity news wasn't moving nearly as fast as it once was. Underwood went on to note that by the time insider info about her relationships came out, things had already often changed. "Like two months later it comes out and it's like you're rehashing old stuff," she told Extra.

Underwood later doubled down on that in an interview with Elle. Regarding dating, she explained, "If I say I am or I'm not, as soon as this magazine comes out, it might be the opposite of what I tell you now. In three months, it'll be 'Carrie said she's not dating anybody,' yet last night, I was out on the town with some guy. He's going to get mad at me. Everybody's going to think I'm a liar. It's just best not to go there." Fair enough! It also didn't help, she explained, that some of the rumors out there were completely false to begin with. 

One of the other things Carrie Underwood shared in her interview with Elle was that, in addition to news being slow regarding her actual relationships, some stories were also fabricated right from the start. Such was the case with Michael Phelps, whom Underwood was linked to after the 2008 Olympics ... despite never having met the man. 

"I'm sure he's lovely. I'm sure he's a great guy. He made America proud! But I never met him, I never mentioned him in an interview, I never mentioned him in that way to anybody that I know," Underwood told the outlet. So, where did the chatter stem from? The only thing she could think of was that she may have said in passing that he was doing well at the Olympics (a pretty objective statement at the time). Other than that, she quipped, "That was one of those completely, totally, utterly fabricated lies that came out of nowhere." Even so, she shared that she'd had a ton of people reach out for comments. "I swear on everything, on my job, my house, my dog ... that's how serious I am," she said. Underwood went on to say that whenever her fans were in doubt, they should know her friends weren't running to any tabloids. "Any time any [media source] ever says 'A friend said,' or 'A close' whatever — no, they didn't! It's just made up. None of my friends would say anything. Ever. About anything!" 

As for the other rumor circulating at the time — that Underwood was a needy mean girl who didn't eat (side note: yikes) — the "American Idol" winner didn't respond. However, she did say she'd completely unplugged from celebrity gossip and had asked her mom to stop paying them mind, too. 

Unfortunately for Carrie Underwood, the rumors about her have gone beyond her love life and also ventured into the tale-as-old-as-time trope that two women in the same industry must feud. Enter, her supposed drama with Taylor Swift, which Underwood herself has debunked on a number of occasions. 

This particular rumor stemmed from Underwood poking fun at the end of Swift's relationship with Connor Kennedy at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards. As a brief refresher, she'd responded to Brad Paisley's question about Swift and Kennedy possibly getting back together with, "Never, never, never ... never ever" (via Us Weekly). Ooh (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh). Swift later told The New York Times Magazine that she hadn't laughed at the quip, which paved the way for feud chatter. However, it bears mentioning that Underwood made it clear she wasn't aware of any feud. In a February 2013 appearance on "CBS This Morning," Underwood reiterated that many of the sources behind rumors seemed not to exist IRL. "Every magazine, newspaper or gossip TV shows, they can just get away with it by saying 'A source says' or 'A friend said' or 'An insider said.' I've read the most ridiculous things about myself when people do that," she said (via The Boot). She also went on to say she loved "I Knew You Were Trouble," lauding Swift for trying new things with her sound. 

The following month, Underwood once again addressed the gossip in an interview with The Guardian, this time pointing out that feud headlines probably did better than supportive ones. "People love girl drama," she said, adding that because the country music business was so male-dominated, it was a shame that that was the case. "If anything we should all be really supportive," she said. 

2013 turned out to be a double whammy gossip-wise for Carrie Underwood, because that November, she found herself at the center of Brad Paisley cheating rumors. At the time, she was already married to husband Mike Fisher, while Brad's marriage to Hallmark star Kimberly Williams-Paisley was in its 10th year. 

Underwood opted not to respond to this particular story, nor did Brad make a comment. However, Kimberly did — and let's just say she wasn't exactly the picture of a jilted wife. On the contrary, when Us Weekly asked her to weigh in on what was being said, she laughed about it. "Are you serious? Wow! I hope it helps our careers! That's all I can say," she quipped to the outlet.

As for Underwood, she didn't respond to the matter. Perhaps she found it just as funny as Kimberly had, or maybe she decided issuing any kind of reply would only give the rumors more airtime than she saw fit. However, it's also possible that she'd made good on what she'd previously said to Elle about going out of her way to avoid reading or watching any kind of celebrity news. Either way, she and Brad continued hosting together right up until his exit from the show in 2018. 

After a few quieter years on the rumor front, in 2018, Carrie Underwood was linked to another feud. This time, it was with Kelly Clarkson — but the OG "American Idol" winner made it clear on a number of occasions that once again, the narrative being spread was a false one. 

It's likely the real story behind Underwood and Clarkson's "feud" came from a quip the latter had made on "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" about having asked for a country week on "American Idol" after she won. "You're welcome, Carrie Underwood," Clarkson joked. Evidently, some took that and ran with it. Like we said, though, Clarkson wasn't having it. In fact, many will even remember Clarkson coming across as defensive while denying the feud in an episode of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."  Unfortunately, she'd jumped in to respond about not having any issue with Underwood, only to realize that wasn't what the question was about. That said, it was kind of the equivalent of blowing up after someone has asked "What's wrong?" all day, so we get it. What's more, Clarkson essentially confirmed that to be the case. "Look, everybody always asks me the 'pitted against each other' question, so," she laughed, before reiterating that there was no issue between them. "We don't even know each other well enough to do that," she said.

As for Underwood, she's also confirmed that she's just fine with Clarkson. In response to a post on X that asked followers to say if they were #TeamKellyClarkson or #TeamCarrieUnderwood," Clarkson pointed out that they were both doing great, while Underwood replied, "I do wish more publications would just celebrate women's success without pitting them against each other." Also, just FTR, Underwood shared that she'd voted #TeamKellyClarkson. 

Despite their marriage long being seen as one of the most successful A-list unions, Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher just can't seem to shake divorce rumors. 

According to those who claim to be in the know, there are a number of reasons why the couple seems to be constantly facing hurdles. Some have claimed that Fisher has been upset in the past about Underwood being on the road so much. Another rumored cause of their squabbles is that he's eager to have another baby and is willing to give surrogacy a go, something Underwood hasn't been quite as keen about. However, one supposed smoking gun only ended up backfiring on those committed to saying the couple was headed for splitsville. That would be a Bible verse Fisher shared to his Instagram. "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting," the post read, referencing Psalm 139:23-24. Almost immediately, the comments section was flooded with well-wishers who implored him not to allow the rumors in the press to break his marriage. Fisher didn't respond for the most part. However, in the nicest way possible, he told a follower that the post had nothing to do with the rumor mill or his marriage. "That's not media. We've never been better. Thanks," he wrote. Oop. 

With two decades in the spotlight, Underwood is no doubt used to all the rumors about her. However, even if we can't ignore them, something tells us she plans to keep doing just that, especially since so many of them seem to be completely untrue. TBH, we're kind of here for it.