Kelsea Ballerini Addresses Chase Stokes Breakup Rumors

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes are still going strong. The “Heartfelt” singer and Stokes, who stars on Netflix’s Outer Banks, started dating in December 2022. They made their red carpet debut in early April at the 2023 CMT Music Awards in Austin, Texas.

Ballerini, 29, took some questions from fans on Instagram over the weekend. One fan asked if she and Stokes, 30, broke up. “Nah,” Ballerini wrote, adding a blushing emoji and a recent picture of the two together.

In another post, Ballerini hinted that she was working on an expanded edition of Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, her February EP featuring songs about her divorce from country singer Morgan Evans. One fan asked if she was working on a deluxe edition of the six-track set. She simply shared a picture of herself smiling and holding a microphone.

Evans and Ballerini finalized their divorce in November. In January, rumors that Ballerini and Stokes were dating surfaced after Stokes published a photo of the two at the National College Football Championship Game.Although Ballerini initially joked about the rumors, they went public with their relationship at the CMT Music Awards, which Ballerini co-hosted with Kane Brown. The two also faced rumors that their relationship was a PR stunt, which she joked about in March. They also posted photos from a sunny romantic getaway on April 22.

“Kelsea is focusing on the good things in her life and her relationship with Chase,” a source told Entertainment Tonight on March 1 after Bellerini confirmed their relationship on the Call Her Daddy podcast. “They’re having a great time together. Chase has been super supportive of her, and they are there for each other both professionally and in their personal lives.”

In the Call Her Daddy interview, Ballerini said she “slid into” Stokes’ DMs in December. “I was just like, I’m not gonna get on an app,” she explained, via ET. “And honestly, he shoots in Charleston, and my manager lives there, and he like, put the bug in my ear. He’s like, ‘You know who’s really cute when you’re ready, it’s Chase.’ I was like, ‘You’re so right.’ And I’ve never seen the show, but I just knew of him. And so, I followed him, and he followed me, and I just swan dove right on in.”

Ballerini admitted she wanted to be respectful to Evans while discussing her new relationship, even though she doesn’t care too much about his feelings. They are no longer on the same journey she said. “I’m not exploiting what I am or am not doing, because I do want to be respectful,” the singer explained. “And also, it’s new. Everything’s new for me… dating, being photographed with someone, like, it’s all really new, and I’m tiptoeing. And I’m happy and I’m really re-learning a lot about myself and how I show up in a relationship and how I show up for myself. It’s been a really beautiful re-awakening.”