The country duo’s romantic video for their hit duet turned into one hilariously awkward Tuesday on set — and Pearce had the perfect solution.
When Carly Pearce and Riley Green agreed to star together in a romantic music video, nobody warned them just how uncomfortable noon on a Tuesday could get. Now, Pearce is spilling every detail — including exactly how much champagne it took to get the job done.
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From Friends to On-Screen Lovers — and It Got Weird Fast
The two country stars released their duet “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” back in March, along with a sizzling music video that shows them playing a couple who simply cannot walk away from each other. On screen, the chemistry looks effortless. Off screen? A completely different story.
In a candid new interview with Absolute Country Radio, Pearce, 36, admitted that the very first scene on set nearly broke both of them. The crew jumped straight into the most intimate shot of the day — the two singers, faces just inches apart, singing directly to each other — and the awkwardness hit immediately.
“It’s like noon on a Tuesday,” Pearce recalled. “They were like, get in there. And I was like, I need a bottle of champagne right now.”
“I Felt the ‘Stache” — Pearce Holds Nothing Back
Pearce made it clear that while she and Green are friendly, things between them had never crossed into that territory — making the close-up shots feel more than a little strange. Both stars apparently had the same reaction within seconds of filming beginning.
“For about 30 seconds, it was like, this is so awkward,” she said. “Like, how are we ever going to do this?”
Then came the moment that sent the internet into a frenzy when she shared it — Riley Green’s mustache made contact.
“I think his mustache touched my lip — oh my God… I mean, I felt the ‘stache,” Pearce said, laughing.
Champagne to the Rescue — and Two Moments of Uncontrollable Laughter
Once that initial awkwardness thawed, Pearce said the rest of the shoot went surprisingly smoothly — helped along, of course, by a steady pour. “After that, it was oddly totally fine,” she said. “It wasn’t awkward, we were fine.”
By the time filming wrapped, Pearce had made her way through an entire bottle of champagne. “I did finish a bottle of champagne at the end of the day, so I guess it got easier for me because I was feeling better,” she joked.
She also revealed there were two moments on set where both she and Green completely lost it laughing — though she kept the details of those to herself, letting fans imagine the chaos.
Pearce did share one thing she was certain about from the start: “I knew I had lightning in a bottle when I was going to reveal him sitting next to me.”
The Video Is a Hit — Over 1.2 Million Views and Counting
Clearly, whatever Pearce and Green were doing on that awkward Tuesday worked. The “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” music video has now crossed 1.2 million views on YouTube since its release. The song itself has climbed into the top 40 on both the Billboard U.S. Country Airplay and U.S. Hot Country Songs charts — proving that a little champagne-fueled chemistry goes a long way.
As for Pearce’s real-life love life, she is happily taken. She has been dating entrepreneur Jordan Karcher for over a year now, with Karcher recently celebrating the milestone on Instagram. “Well damn, that year sure went fast! We should do it again,” he wrote — and Pearce replied with pure enthusiasm: “And again and again and again!”
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