Who Is Kacey Musgraves' Boyfriend? All About Cole Schafer

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Kacey Musgraves has found love again with Cole Schafer.

The couple were first spotted together in June 2021, about a year after the country singer announced her divorce from Ruston Kelly. A few days after their initial sighting, Schafer posted a photo with Musgraves, seemingly confirming the dating rumors.

The "High Horse" singer later made their relationship Instagram official and has since shared a few sweet tributes to Schafer. As she explained in a March 2022 interview with Time, "I don't really want to keep things private, because I'm proud of the love that I have. I'm very happy. It's natural to want to share that. And I don't want to come across like a robot — I think people like me because I share who I am."

She added that Schafer is very supportive of her career and not intimidated by her success. "I feel really lucky to be with someone who is so secure and is a champion of me reaching for every star possible," Musgraves said. "It's a really beautiful thing for a man to be able to support a woman in that way and not take it personally."

On Jan. 5, 2023, Musgraves celebrated Schafer's birthday with a sweet tribute on Instagram, calling him the "brightest flame in my world."

So, who is the Grammy-winning singer's boyfriend, and what is there to know about him? Keep reading to learn more about Cole Schafer.

He and Musgraves had a "meet-cute"

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Musgraves and Schafer met when they happened to lock eyes in a crowded restaurant. The singer revealed that Schafer didn't know who she was when they first met, which made her like him even more.

"He did not know who I was, which I loved," she told the New York Times.

He's a writer

Kacey Musgraves Instagram

According to his website, Schafer works in advertising as a copywriter "by day" and moonlights as a poet "by night," under the alias January Black. He has written three books of poetry and prose: One Minute, Please?, After Her and Guillotine.

While Schafer doesn't regret his decision to be a writer, he admits to occasionally wrestling with it.

"I've written before that if I weren't a writer, I'd be a Formula 1 driver or a tattoo artist or an abstract painter or a denim maker or a barista or a florist or a mechanic or a real estate tycoon or a hedge fund owner or a Green Beret or a podcast host or a sushi chef or a master distiller or, hell, maybe even a sommelier," he wrote in June 2022 blog post. "I'm not any of these things, of course. I'm a writer. But, because I've chosen to be a writer, I've also chosen not to be everything else I've listed out up above. I think this is the pain that Jonathan Safran Foer was describing when he wrote, 'Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.' "

He's based in Nashville

Kacey Musgraves Instagram

Though he may not be a musician like his girlfriend, Schafer also lives in the Music City of Nashville, per his LinkedIn bio. Musgraves previously revealed on Instagram that Schafer is originally from southern Indiana.

He is a proud dog dad

Cole Schafer Instagram

Schafer occasionally posts photos of his dog, June, on Instagram. Alongside a photo of June as a puppy, he wrote, "Another picture of my s'mores-Klondike-panda-skunk who I adore (and who has also been a slight nightmare to raise and is causing me to rethink ever having children)."

If Schafer's Instagram is any indication, Musgraves appears to have June's seal of approval, as he's posted several photos of the "Slow Burn" singer with the pooch.

He's written poetry about Musgraves

Cole Schafer Instagram

In a June 2022 Instagram post, Schafer shared some excerpts from his book Guillotine, including at least one poem that appears to be about Musgraves. The poem reads: "There is a polaroid of her / on the dashboard of my '89 Range Rover; / a polaroid where she's bending the wind / with an oriental fan; / as she gazes over her left shoulder, / her eyes devouring something the camera cannot see."

On Aug. 21, 2021, Schafer posted a photo of a Polaroid of Musgraves holding an oriental fan and peering over her shoulder.

He supports Kacey Musgraves on tour and celebrates her successes

Cole Schafer Instagram

Schafer loves honoring Musgraves' career wins. In February 2022, he posted a carousel of black-and-white photos on Instagram from backstage at Madison Square Garden, where Musgraves played a sold-out show on Feb. 7. He called the night "a big f—king deal, a bigger deal than I think her modesty will allow her to wrap her head around."

Schafer described Musgraves as "the most naturally gifted human" he's ever been around and admired her lack of visible nerves before performing, as well as her character as a person offstage.

"What impresses me most about her, is that she's the same human when she's talking to my mother, my father, my grandfather, my brothers or my best friend Jack, as she is when she's talking to an arena filled with 15,000 people (save for maybe the exploding fiery heart and a few of the other lovely theatrics)," he wrote. "So, all that to say, Kace didn't just sell out The Garden. She sold out The Garden in the same way she's built her entire career: by being completely and unapologetically herself. And, you know, that's really something."

He has hobbies outside his work as a writer

Though writing is his main passion, Musgraves has documented her man engaging in a slew of other activities. On his 28th birthday, the singer penned touching tributes to Schafer on Instagram, complimenting him on his various attributes and skills, which include playing guitar and cooking well enough to "turn [Musgraves] on."

For Schafer's 29th birthday in January 2023, Musgraves shared another sweet post singing her beau's praises.

"So grateful for all the laughs and adventures, deep talks, ego checks, wise advice, forehead kisses, the books you recommend, your late night "oh I just whipped this up" and somehow it's extremely gourmet pasta (like, actually Michelin star) situations, the gorgeous way you observe the world and the words that follow. And mostly your unabashed, full-throttle vulnerability which is easily the sexiest thing about you," she wrote in the caption.

He and Musgraves founded a charity ball

In December 2021, Schafer and Musgraves hosted the inaugural Teddy Bear Ball in Nashville to raise money for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. The pair partnered with Build-A-Bear to donate funds and over 300 teddy bears to the hospital.

In honor of the second annual gala in 2022, Schafer discussed the inspiration behind the event in a Twitter thread, sharing that the couple was inspired by a dog named Squid who works as a service animal at the hospital and wanted to raise money to train a second dog.

Musgraves also shared photos from the gala on Instagram, including one sweet shot of her and Schafer posing with teddy bears at the event, where she performed alongside her frequent collaborator Daniel Tashian and his band The Silver Seas.