Evan Agostini/Invision/APLast year, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert attended the 2014 CMA Awards as a couple, as husband and wife of more than three years.
And they'll both be at the 2015 CMA Awards tonight, but as ex-husband and ex-wife. They revealed in July that they had split up and, a few short days later, it turns out they weren't just separated—they had already divorced. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are back to being country music's most high-profile golden couple.
Now, this highly anticipated reunion-simulating situation could go several ways, some more awkward than others:
Both Blake and Miranda are nominated for multiple awards and both are performing, though obviously not together. So while they presumably won't be sitting anywhere near each other—though wouldn't that be a rather Nashville-esque touch on the part of the Country Music Association if that were the case—there could be some backstage run-ins, depending on what time each is scheduled to sing.
They could also just be ships in the night, with producers wanting zero distractions or drama for two of the night's biggest acts and the artists themselves making a point of steering clear of each other.
If, however, the exes happen to share a green room or brush shoulders or otherwise come face to face...
The most likely scenario is, nothing dramatic happens. They exchange pleasantries, like mature adults, and go about their nights. There could also be a purposefully cold exchange, with Blake running into Miranda and getting nothing but an icy glare in return, whether due to long-harbored animosity, a more recent spat or, perhaps... a brand-new point of contention.
Which brings us to the more far-fetched but possible result: Miranda has a few choice words for Blake, largely thanks to his increasingly affectionate-looking relationship with fellow Voice coach Gwen Stefani, who also joined the ranks of the newly available this past summer when she and Gavin Rossdale filed for divorce after 13 years of marriage.
Maybe Miranda's wondering why he couldn't have just waited until after the CMAs to go about his business. Maybe Blake's angry at her for slights unknown. Who knows, maybe Miranda's thrilled that he seems to be dating and wants to give him a big, fat fist bump.
Not that we're trying to say that either ex should be feeling spiteful or that either one dating should annoy the other. But they did just get divorced a few months ago. Wouldn't you rather have more of a time buffer—say, seven to eight years—before you run into your ex at one of the biggest parties in town?
We shall know soon enough what the vibe is at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, whether it's more of the adorable "Cody Simpson and Gigi Hadid laugh about being on the same jet together" variety; the "well, guess we still have to work together even though it sucks" experience of exes Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray; or the "avoid ever breathing the same air at all costs" determination of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.
In the meantime, Blake has playfully predicted all sorts of awkwardness, albeit of the butt-of-the-host's jokes variety.
"This year's gonna be awkward at the CMAs, speaking of jokes," he said on Late Night With Seth Meyers last week. "Because...it's such a family. Everybody there is friends. There's gotta be one about me and Miranda. [Host] Brad Paisley is not doing his job if he doesn't look down there and go 'Ha ha!' You have to address the elephant in the room."
That actually sounds like kind of a dick move on Paisley's part, but...Blake did tweet out Adam Levine's phone number once, so he doesn't strike us as the overly sensitive type.
Again referring to Paisley, who's co-hosting for the eighth straight year with Carrie Underwood, he added, "We've had the conversations like, 'OK, dude. I'll sit there and let you kick me in the face a few times.' I know it's coming."
May Brad Paisley's zingers be the only thing that kick him in the face tonight.