Jason Aldean Opens Up About Painful Divorce

Just as Jason Aldean's career was soaring into superstar status last year, his personal life was falling apart. The Georgia native went through a divorce with his wife of 12 years, Jessica Ussery, after photos surfaced of him kissing another woman, former 'American Idol' contestant Brittany Kerr.

Aldean chose to keep his private life private, and never commented on the painful split, until now. He opened up in an exclusive interview on ‘In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: Countdown to the CMA Awards,’ sharing for the first time how he dealt with the break-up with his high school sweetheart.

"I think the biggest thing is, you know, obviously there was things going on in my marriage at the time where it just wasn't really happy," he explains of the infamous incident. "And you go out and you kind of let your guard down a little bit and things happen, and, it's hard enough to deal with it in private."

The 36-year-old has vehemently denied anything happened beyond what was seen in the pictures, and says that while the onslaught of paparazzi snapping the incriminating photos was a wake-up call, they also did him one huge favor.

"Probably the best thing that could have happened that night was, they also took the pictures of me getting in a cab with my buddies," he notes. "So it was, you know, it is what it is."

The father of two girls says that his busy tour this year, which included selling out two shows at Boston's Fenway Park, helped heal some of his personal pain.

"I love getting on stage every night and playing music, and looking out and seeing people having fun," he says. "I'm really happy right now, and all this craziness that's going on in my personal life and professional life, no matter what's going on, I can always get on stage and play, and it all goes away."

Aldean's professional life continues to skyrocket. The 'When She Says Baby' singer will perform at tonight's 47th annual CMA Awards, where he is nominated for three trophies, including the night's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year.

The CMA Awards will air live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena at 8PM ET on ABC.