Hannah Ellis Draws on Her Real-Life Romance with Fellow Country Artist Nick Wayne in Addictive New Single 'Us'

It's the day after Hannah Ellis' Grand Ole Opry debut, and the country music singer/songwriter has spent the entire morning on her phone, watching the videos and reading the messages, as if to prove to herself that she really did get to stand and perform in that famous wooden circle.

"It feels like the day after Christmas," Ellis, 31, tells PEOPLE mere hours after the career milestone on Sept. 28. "It's been really sweet reliving the night."

'Sweet' is a good way to describe Ellis' entire life at the moment, as she basks in the bliss that comes when one finds themselves on the verge of a budding country music career.

"It's nights like last night that get you thinking back and remembering those nights where when you didn't have a publishing deal and you didn't have a record deal and no one knew who you were and you were playing rounds for three people and hoping that maybe they would go listen to your music after the show," Ellis explains. "You spend a lot of your time wondering what you need to do differently."

Indeed, Ellis has spent 10 years or so thinking these sorts of thoughts, trying her best to insert herself into the machine that is Nashville, trying her best to find the slot she would best fit in.

"It just takes a thousand little cuts, you know?" says the University of Kentucky alum, who graduated in less than four years with a degree in integrated strategic communications. "It's about every little thing that you do every day adding up over time, so when you cross paths with the right people, you're ready for it."

Hailing from Campbellsville, Kentucky, Ellis has long been surrounded by the sounds of music. While her dad owned a window and door business, her mom worked as a teacher. But on the weekends, they were wedding singers who loved the sounds of music.

"We have been singing ever since I can remember," says the songwriter who has had songs cut by several artists including Russell Dickerson, Carly Pearce, Danielle Bradbery and Francesca Battistelli.

And as sweet as the journey has been from those childhood days to where Ellis stands now, so too is the sweetness of her new marriage to longtime love and fellow country music artist Nick Wayne, whom she wed in May.

"He was the only person standing on the side of the stage with me before I walked out," Ellis remembers of her husband's presence at her Opry debut. "We were just talking, and he was like, 'Soak in this moment. This is something really, really special. Memorize everything.' I just looked at him and I said, 'I love our life.' And I really do. I love our life. Sometimes, being two people in the music industry has its challenges, but moments like last night make it really, really sweet."

It's those moments that the couple now looks to build on, especially after a year that had its share of challenges due to the ongoing pandemic.

"When your entire livelihood is taken away from both of you, you start to look around and figure out what is important and what truly matters," says Ellis about the year 2020. "But we journeyed through it together. Every day, there was a plan. We're going to do what we can do. We're going to continue writing songs. We're going to continue posting on our social media and engaging with our fans in that way. We also set small goals for ourselves within our relationship. It really helped us maneuver through that time."

It's a time that Ellis now looks back on, especially as she preps to release her first single to country radio — "Us," an addictive ode to the emotional stability that comes when one finds their person. It's a song that she pulled directly from her own relationship with Wayne.

"That's where that song was born," she says of the tune she co-wrote alongside Jason Massey and Travis Wood. "It's the idea of looking to your left and seeing your person and going, 'If everything else falls away, this is it, we have this, and this is solid.' Last year was not solid for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. And so having that was just a really special thing."

So, every time Ellis sings "Us," she thinks of him.

"He's just the most solid person," she says of her husband. "He's truly what the song "Us" is about. He does not waver. He will not change. I can look 50 and 60 years down the road and I see the same guy."