Kellie Pickler Is Learning to Stay Mum

Choosing your words wisely is sometimes a hard lesson to learn, and it's one Kellie Pickler is trying her best to master. The 'American Idol' alum has talked publicly in the past about hardships in her family and love life. And she says that has resulted in some awkward fan encounters.

"Random people in a grocery store will come up and tell me what I should do: 'Oh, you should have left him a long time ago.' It's weird . . . they don't know anything but a paragraph they read in the paper," says Pickler. "I have to keep my big mouth shut about anything personal."

But, old habits die hard. The 21-year-old singer broke her new rule last week on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show.' When asked about her love life, she disclosed that, against her reservations, she's dating someone in the music business.

"When I started this, I said I will never ever be in a relationship with someone in the music business," she told DeGeneres. "Cause how awful would it be for like, say you're married to some big country singer and then you get a divorce, and then you've gotta share. Then you're nominated for Album of the Year, together, and he wins, and then you're just like, 'UGH!' And you know, you're going through a divorce ... It'd just be like a conflict of interest. And so, I date a songwriter."

Something tells me we're going to keep hearing about this country starlet's relationships.

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