When it comes to relationships, Jana Kramer doesn’t need anyone wasting her time.
Speaking to PEOPLE about her latest single “Nicest Thing,” out Friday, Kramer details the sassy take she took on a breakup song.
“When you have a relationship, sometimes you don’t really leave with anything and the relationship wasn’t great or the dating experience,” the country singer, 38, tells PEOPLE. “The nicest thing he could have ever done is never said hello because there wasn’t really anything great about the relationship or the time spent.”
She continues, “And it’s like, man, I wish I almost hadn’t wasted that time. And on the flip side of that, I know that there are things to be learned from every situation but I just wanted to have a sassy take on that.”
Kramer felt inspired in the writers’ room after she reflected on some of her past relationships.
“[I thought], to save us both the headache, I wish you never said hello. Because sometimes it can be just so draining and so toxic. And I think just in the writing room, that’s when I just had this idea of all the things that you could have said to me like, ‘I love you,’ or ‘You’re amazing.’ Actually, the nicest thing you could have ever said was never said hello.”
“People are just meant to pass,” she concludes.
Kramer’s single follows her single “The Story,” which focused on her life as a single mother with two kids: daughter Jolie Rae, 6, and son Jace Joseph, 3. Recently, Kramer has found her rhythm since her divorce from Mike Caussin last year.
“Finding the balance has been really great for me. I have the kids 70% of the time, so I have them a lot. It’s amazing and I’m so grateful, but I also realize how important it is to really take the other days that I don’t to just really decompress and take care of things I have to take care of so that when I’m with them I’m not stressed,” she says.
“Moms have our stressful moments with kids, but they’re at such precious ages that I am really soaking it in,” Kramer continues. “They’re growing up so fast and I’m just trying to be as present as possible, then really recharge on my co-parenting days so I can be the best mom. Because again, the 70%, it’s a lot and it’s a lot on me and the kids. To do it alone has been a transition.”
And when things do get hard, she hopes her kids will one day understand that she was doing her best.
“There’s times when I feel bad because I’m just so tired and it’s hard doing this solo. But I hope that one day they can see that even on the moments when I wasn’t the perfect mom and I might have snapped [they think], ‘She was doing the best she could with what she had.'”
When it comes to her dating life, Kramer says that she’s “definitely dating,” but most of all she’s enjoying her freedom.
“I’ve gone on a few dates this summer and it’s been really fun. Normally I just jump right into a relationship and I move way too fast — so I’m really learning to just slow down,” she says. “And first of all, enjoy my alone time and enjoy being single, but then also there’s so much freedom in being single — I don’t have to text anyone what I’m doing and I get to do whatever I want!”
She continues, “Like tonight it’s Wednesday, I don’t have the kids, I get to do whatever I want or go wherever I want. [There’s] so much freedom in that. I want to find my person, I do, but I also am not going to rush to find that because I have my two kids. There’s no rush, but I hope to find my person one day.”
“Nicest Thing” is out now.