Kelsea Ballerini Addresses Rumor Her Chase Stokes Romance Is a PR Stunt

03/08/2023 12:29 pm EST

Kelsea Ballerini and actor Chase Stokes have been accused of faking their romance for a PR stunt, and the singer has now addressed those rumors. ET reports that on her Instagram Stories thread, the country singer shared a photo from Stokes' account wherein she is seen sitting on his lap. In a caption of the image, Ballerini wrote, "idk seems staged. probably PR," and added an upside-down smiling face emoji.

Ballerini and Stokes began dating in the last couple of months, following her divorce from fellow country singer Morgan Evans. Recently, Ballerini made comments about her relationship with Evans in a new episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, hosted by Alexandra Cooper. During the conversation, Ballerini said candidly, "There were separations, there was years of couples therapy. There was like, many a night of sleeping on the couch," she said. "I don't think it was the first night, but it was a night where I was like, this is not what I want."

She continued: "I slept on the couch the night before the CMAs and I remember I went to rehearsal at the arena and texting him and being like, 'I'll just see you at the carpet.'" After being asked about why she slept on the couch so often, Ballerini stated that the couple had a "disconnection" for some time. "We hadn't seen each other, there was a lack of effort to see each other. I was getting resentful because any time we did see each other, I felt like I was carrying that load, and I was tired," she said. "I was just tired of showing up in that way all the time and not feeling like I was seen or matched."

In a post on Instagram, Evans responded to Ballrini's comments, writing, "It's really sad for me to see this person, who I spent so much of my life with, and loved with all my heart, saying things that aren't reality and that leave out what really happened. She knows I'm not the type of guy to speak on those things publicly." He went on to write, "If this is what she needs to heal, I hope it helps. All I ask is if that you're on my pages, please don't be mean. Don't be mean to Kelsea, don't be mean to each other." Evans then concluded his statement with: "Life's too short."

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