Kelsea Ballerini Reacts to Rumor She's Dating 'Outer Banks' Star Chase Stokes
Kelsea Ballerini reacted to the rumors that she started dating Outer Banks star, Chase Stokes. After Stokes, 30, shared a photo of the two sitting together at the National College Football Championship Game on Friday, fans began speculating that the two are an item. Ballerini has been single since she and Morgan Evans finalized their divorce on November 2022.
"I'm about to break up with the internet 5 sure," Ballerini, 29, captioned her latest TikTok video. She then spoke in front of a DeuxMoi screenshot, which included a comment from someone claiming Ballerini is not dating Stokes because "she's too busy consistently asking out the manager of Soho House nash when she comes in all the time after last call." The person claimed Stokes and Ballerini being together must be a "[publicity] play."
@kelseaballerini i’m about to break up with the internet 5 sure 😂
♬ original sound – Kelsea Ballerini
Ballerini laughed this off and told her fans that she knows she should not be looking at comments. "I know, I know, I know, I know, stop reading, stop looking," Ballerini said. "But what is happening, guys? What is this? Let's not do this."
The Stokes-Ballerini speculation dates back to at least Jan. 10, when Ballerini and Stokes appeared to be flirting in the comments section of one of her Instagram posts. Then on Jan. 13, Stokes shared a gallery of recent photos, including a picture from the Jan. 9 College Football Championship game with Ballerini. The "I Quit Drinking" singer replied to the post, writing, "Go Vols," in reference to the Tennessee Volunteers.
Stokes has yet to respond to the speculation publicly. He was last linked to Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star Madelyn Cline for about a year before they broke up in late 2021. Stokes and Cline both star on Outer Banks, which returns for a third season on Netflix on Feb. 23.
Ballerini and Evans were married from December 2017 to August 2022. They finalized their divorce in November 2022. She resumes her Heartfirst Tour with Georgia Webster on March 6 in Toronto. The tour is in support of her fourth album, Subject to Change, which includes the hits "Heartfirst" and "If You Do Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)."
In a December episode of the podcast Tell Me About It With Jade Iovine, Ballerini said it would have been "such a disserve and a dishonoring of yourself" to stay in her marriage if she knew it was not right. "[Shame] is the one thing that I just refuse to feel... Judge me for it, fine, that's on you," she said, adding that she tries not to spend a single night alone since her split. One of her longtime friends even moved into her house before she hit the road for her tour.