Kelsea Ballerini Reunites with Chase Stokes After Split, Say Friends

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes ‘never really stopped’ talking during their brief split.

The couple went their separate ways after two years of dating in September but it emerged this week they have reconciled and it seems friends are not surprised they are ‘back together’.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: ‘[They] never really stopped being in touch after their brief split. They really picked up where they left off.’

The 32-year-old singer realized how much she ‘missed’ the Outer Banks star during their break. The source said: ‘Kelsea wanted to give it another chance and missed Chase a lot.’

And the 33-year-old actor was very willing to give things another go. The insider added: ‘[Chase] never wanted the break-up.

‘[He] always felt there was something between them and believed they just needed time to cool off and figure things out.’

And having ‘worked through some of their ‘issues’, both Kelsea ad Chase are ‘hopeful this time around will be better.’

Daily Mail has not received a response to its request for comment from reps for Ballerini and Stokes. 

Kelsea – who was married to singer Morgan Evans between 2017 and 2022 – and Chase have so far remained tight-lipped about their reported reunion. However, multiple sources have confirmed the news to Us Weekly, and the celebrity duo were spotted together near Edinburgh Castle in Scotland in October, fueling speculation that they’d rekindled their romance.

Eyewitness Gemma Kennedy told the publication: ‘[Chase] was very nice. We had a wee chat about how he was having a holiday in Scotland before going to Croatia to film the final season of Outer Banks. They both seemed really happy and smiley.’

Gemma noted that the famous duo ‘seemed like the sweetest people’ during their outing in Scotland.

She added: ‘They were very much loved-up and holding hands at the bar.’

Meanwhile, Kelsea previously admitted that she feared passing out before her first face-to-face meeting with Chase.

The singer and Chase spent weeks ‘texting and Facetiming’ each other before they met for the first time, and Kelsea recalled feeling anxious ahead of their encounter.

During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Kelsea shared: ‘He came to this party that I was playing, and I had just gotten done playing. And I was … ‘Guys – I’m sweating just thinking about this. I thought I was gonna pass out’.

‘You can have chemistry over the phone but when you see each other you’re like, what’s the height difference, are we … are you … I didn’t know what to do. And so I walked out to his car, and he got out of his Bronco – hot.’

Before their split Stokes was busy showering Ballerini with affection online. 

For her 32nd birthday, he shared a carousel of loved-up snaps and gushed, ‘Although you keep saying you’re not excited for 32, id say I’m lookin forward to more of this. happy birthday my love.’

By days later the celebration had turned into heartbreak. 

Ballerini’s rep confirmed the split to People, with a source adding: ‘They’re two adults who gave it their all and tried to do everything they could to make it work, but ultimately couldn’t. It happens.’

The pair first popped up on the public radar in early 2023, when the Outer Banks star shared a photo of them getting cozy at football game in California. 

What began as rumor quickly escalated — by April, they confirmed their romance with a red-carpet debut at the CMT Awards, cementing themselves as one of entertainment’s most-watched pairings. 

In November 2024, Ballerini gushed about how much she appreciates Stokes’ pride in their relationship.

The beauty reminisced about how the actor made their romance Instagram official back in January 2023 — before they had even discussed whether they were ‘together.’

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight during a game of Sip or Spill, she said, ‘I think it is very underrated for a man to be really proud of his relationship.’

She added, ‘[He posted that photo] before we even had the conversation of like, “Are we together?” Even as a very independently wired woman, I love when he’s like, “This is us. Here we are.” He full-sent that.’

The photo, shared on January 13, 2023, was captioned ‘Lil recap’ and featured the couple cuddled up at a football game, with Kelsea tagged in the post, though their faces were not visible.

Around the same time, Stokes praised Ballerini as a ‘great person,’ stating on Today, ‘I truthfully think when you find somebody who’s not just somebody you love and adore, but is also your best friend, you’ve kind of got the best of both worlds. 

‘And she’s not just a great person, but everything that you see—whether it be on social media or when she’s on stage—is exactly the person she is when she’s not doing those things.’ 

In May, Ballerini spoke candidly with Elle about her 2022 divorce from Morgan Evans. 

‘I don’t ever want to be a poster child for divorce,’ said the star. ‘It’s been three years now. It’s simply not in the forefront of my life anymore.

‘But I always make sure when these women come up to me, my first reaction is never, “Oh my God, congratulations!” It’s like, ‘”Are you okay?” Because just like it needs to be destigmatized, I also don’t think it should be celebrated or glamorized.’

That same month, while on tour in Hollywood, Florida, Ballerini cut a show short after fans began shouting insults about her ex. 

‘Seriously, we’re three years past it, everything’s fine now,’ she told the crowd. ‘I sing the song for you now, it’s not about me anymore, please.’