Country music icon worth millions makes revelation about leaving industry for alternative career

The current landscape of the country music scene remains far from inclusive, and that's where Chely Wright enters the equation. The "I Already Do" hitmaker made waves in the industry 15 years ago when she became the first mainstream country star to come out as gay.

Today, Chely has traded her cowboy boots for a sleek pump, stepping into the corporate world as the Chief Diversity Officer at the workplace design firm Unispace, a position she took on in 2021. The 54-year-old hasn't stopped there – at the beginning of the year she was promoted as the senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and new market growth and works across the company ISS. 

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Chely opened up to US Weekly about the isolation she felt across her career in the music industry. "I’m ground zero of what it looks like and feels like to not feel like you belong at work," she shared. 

After nearly two decades at the helm of the country music industry, the singer came out as lesbian in 2010. "People talk a lot about, 'Oh, just come out, it's safe to come out in country music. … People don’t care anymore'. I push back on that, because if you’ve dreamed your whole life of becoming a country music singer, making records, playing the Grand Ole Opry, getting a record deal, hearing yourself on the radio, touring with the other artists in country music — I think a lot of care and thought has to go into how you feel, how safe you feel, what your psychological safety is at work," she added.

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Chely's new job sees her fostering client and community partnerships through hosting fundraisers to aid the Pasaden and Altadena wildfires. The star's transition into activism came naturally after she opened up about her sexuality. Once the pandemic hit in 2020, Chely set her sights on making her mark in the corporate world.

"I just really enjoyed business. I’ve always enjoyed figuring things out and finding a way to get a win, whether it be for my paper route customers [as a kid] or my country music fans, or the people I’ve been able to work with in design build and now facilities management," she explained.

"There’s a win for everyone. And good business is making sure that your client is glad they spent their money with you. They do it again, and they’d tell their friends. That’s it. That’s what country music has in common with facilities management."