P1.“FROM A FARM GIRL MOCKED FOR HER ‘CLUCKING’ VOICE TO A GLAMOROUS SUPERSTAR — AND THE RUMORED AFFAIR WITH MICHAEL PHELPS”.P1

When Carrie Underwood first began her career, she was just a small-town farm girl with a voice some people teasingly compared to a clucking chicken — but things have certainly changed. She went on to become an award-winning superstar with a glamorous lifestyle. Still, fame came with a downside: criticism, scrutiny, and plenty of rumors that followed her everywhere.

A rumor linking her to Michael Phelps

One of the things Underwood shared in her interview with Elle was that not only were reports about her real relationships slow to surface, but some stories were completely made up from the start. That includes the rumor about her supposedly dating Michael Phelps after the 2008 Olympics… even though she had never met him.

“He’s probably adorable. I’m sure he’s a great guy. He made America proud! But I’ve never met him, I’ve never mentioned him in an interview, I’ve never talked about him that way to anyone I know,” Underwood told the magazine.

So where did the rumor even come from? The only thing she could think of was that she might have casually said he was doing well at the Olympics — a totally harmless and objective comment at the time. Otherwise, she joked, “It was one of those completely, totally, absolutely made-up lies that came out of thin air.”

Even so, she said many people reached out to her asking for confirmation. “I swear on everything — my career, my house, my dog… that’s how serious I am,” she said. Underwood added that whenever fans see quotes from “a friend” or “someone close to her,” they should immediately know it’s fake. “Whenever a source says ‘A friend said’ or ‘Someone close to her claimed’ — no, they didn’t! It’s completely made up. None of my friends talk to tabloids. Ever. About anything!”

As for the other rumors floating around at the time — that Underwood was mean, demanding, or barely ate anything (side note: oh my goodness) — the American Idol champion didn’t bother responding. She said she had learned to tune out celebrity gossip altogether, and she even told her mom to stop worrying about it too.