When she walked the carpet in a red Christian Siriano gown at the Country Music Association Awards last month, Kelsea Ballerini was having her ‘revenge dress’ moment.
The country singer, 32, was reclaiming her power post-breakup, posing alone exactly one year after she attended the event with her then-boyfriend Chase Stokes in tow.
Unable to keep their hands to themselves – and with Stokes, 33, transfixed on Ballerini – it was hard to predict the toxicity that would soon follow, with the couple splitting amid reports of jealousy months later, only to get back together and then split again in September, this time for good.
Well, at least that’s what fans assumed.
But now the Daily Mail can reveal that the on again-off again couple are tentatively dating again.
‘There are zero labels right now, but it looks like they might be trying again and giving it another go,’ our source said. ‘It is a very touchy situation, but they both want to be with each other, which has been heightened around the holidays.’
When she walked the carpet in a red Christian Siriano gown at the CMAs last month, Kelsea Ballerini was having her ‘revenge dress’ moment after splitting from Chase Stokes
But according to one insider, single life has been short lived with the exes taking tentative steps to make a go of their on-off relationship once again (pictured in May)
Nashville’s hot young couple met in late 2022, a matter of weeks after she announced she was seeking a divorce from her then-husband, Australian country singer Morgan Evans. The pair had tied the knot in Mexico in 2017 when she was 24 and he was 32.
By January 2023 Stokes and Ballerini were pictured getting cozy at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with Stokes ‘soft launching’ their romance on Instagram. From then on, the two seemingly struggled to satiate their hunger for one another.
Their Instagram pages became an homage to their love, red carpets provided a stage for their public displays of affection, and Stokes quickly became Ballerini’s biggest cheerleader, supporting her appearance on SNL and surprising her while on tour.
So public were they that Ballerini even went so far as to discuss their sex life, praising her man for his approach in the bedroom compared to her previous love interests.
‘My experience with [sex] was very performative, and for the other person,’ she told the Call Her Daddy podcast back in 2023. ‘It don’t be like that anymore. I didn’t understand how [sex] could be a real connector in a relationship – I always thought it was just something that you did. Now, I realize it’s a connector for people.’
But after they very publicly celebrated their first anniversary in January 2024, the once regular Instagram updates seemingly stopped out of nowhere, leading to rumors of a split.
A red carpet appearance four months later at the Academy of Country Music Awards appeared to temper the fevered speculation, but it did little to convince fans that all was well, with Ballerini herself hinting at trouble. Two months later she described herself and Stokes as ‘yin and yang’ and revealed that their schedules ‘flip flopped’ leaving little time to spend together.
‘I think we’re two and a half years in, so [the relationship] looks a lot different now than it did in the beginning,’ she told Us Weekly. ‘I just want all the good things in the world for him.’
‘There are zero labels right now, but it looks like they might be trying again and giving it another go,’ our source said. ‘It is a very touchy situation, but they both want to be with each other’
Ballerini has yet to comment on their split back in September, while Stokes appeared to hint he had been blocked by her on Instagram in a series of posts last monthÂ
The pair finally split back in September, with sources at the time telling the Daily Mail that Stokes’ jealousy had fueled the break up – which was reportedly welcomed by Ballerini’s friends, who saw it as her chance to finally ‘find someone who is right for her.’
Stokes appeared to accept that the relationship was over when he posted an Instagram story in late November proclaiming his innocence and seemingly revealing Ballerini, had ‘blocked’ him.
‘I’m blocked, I did nothing wrong,’ he told his 7.8 million followers. ‘I tried. I’m sorry for those who believed in us. It is what it is. Onwards and upwards.’
Stokes still follows Ballerini on Instagram, but she no longer follows him.Â
For her part, Ballerini has stayed silent, refraining from addressing their split or the multiple reports of reconciliations. They were spotted together in Edinburgh, Scotland in October with one eyewitness claiming they looked ‘very much loved-up’ and were ‘holding hands at the bar.’ Then, last week, celebrity gossip platform DeuxMoi claimed they were looking ‘veryyyyy cozy’ in a booth at Soho House in Nashville, Tennessee.
But she sparked feverish speculation on releasing her single, Emerald City, last month which fans are convinced is a swipe at Stokes’ ex Madelyn Cline, 28.
The Outer Banks costars, who play onscreen lovers, dated for a year before splitting in November 2021 but remained close, sparking hope for fans desperate for a ‘Chaselyn’ reunion. So it was no surprise that when Ballerini came onto the scene, fans were furious.
Ballerini’s Emerald City lyrics did little to stem the dislike towards her, telling the story of a girl who ‘texts in the middle of the night when we’re laying in the bed’ before insisting she’s ‘not crazy’ just ‘a girl, kinda jealous, kinda insecure’ who hates how the messaging ‘takes me down an old road where she used to be yours.’
But her single Emerald City talked about feeling jealous towards a partner’s ex girlfriend, which left fans convinced she was taking a swipe at Stokes’ ex and Outer Banks costar Madelyn Cline (pictured in 2021)
The lyrics tell the story of a girl who ‘texts in the middle of the night when we’re laying in the bed’ before insisting she’s ‘not crazy’ just ‘a girl, kinda jealous, kinda insecure’ (Pictured Stokes and Ballerini at the CMAs in November 2024)
The song finishes: ‘Double down that you’ll end up with me/ Just tell me I’m your Emerald City (I’m good as gold, but when she’s around)/ (My true color comes out).’
When Ballerini promoted another track, People Pleaser, on her Instagram page last month, one fan allegedly bombarded the comment section with pictures of Cline and Stokes and encouraged others to follow suit. Stokes jumped in, commenting: ‘These comments are f*****g weird. Grow up.’Â
Whether or not jealousy tore them apart, it appears the on and off couple are pushing past their previous issues to try again – but when it comes to her friends, it might take some convincing.
‘It just feels natural to be together even with their differences, so they are trying to see if it will work,’ said our insider. ‘If it does, amazing for them, but if it doesn’t, Kelsea’s friends don’t want to be all ‘we told you so.’Â
‘But they are ready to be a shoulder to cry on if it goes haywire again. It is going to be touch and go but this time around, at least they know that is the case and aren’t making any promises for themselves.’
The Daily Mail has approached representatives for Ballerini and Stokes for comment. Â
