Chase Stokes Hints at Kelsea Ballerini Split With Cryptic Messages
Chase Stokes‘ New cryptic messages on social media remind fans of his relationship Kelsea Ballerini is over again.
“Don’t believe the media,” Stokes, 33, wrote via his Instagram Story on Thursday, November 20, raising eyebrows among his followers. “I have been blocked, I have done nothing wrong.”
The Outdoor benches added star: “Sorry” with a red heart emoji. “I tried.”
Stokes continued to fuel speculation that his comments are related to his and Ballerini’s relationship, with a second cryptic upload on Thursday.
“I’m sorry for those who believed in us,” he continued. “It is what it is. Onwards and upwards.”
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Stokes is no longer ‘following’ 32-year-old Ballerini on Instagram. The “Peter Pan” singer also does not have Stokes on her Instagram following list, after they previously followed each other.
Stokes’ apparently targeted messages come hours after Ballerini attended the 2025 CMA Awards solo in Nashville following a European reunion with the actor last month.
Ballerini walked the red carpet in what some fans thought was a revenge dress, which was a reference to her relationship status. The musician slayed the CMAs with a performance of her new single “I Sit in Parks” while wearing a red-hot dress.
Ballerini’s solo night out sparked some concern about her and Stokes’ relationship, as the pair were often spotted together on the awards show circuit while dating.
Stokes and Ballerini started dating in January 2023 after the ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ singer finalized her divorce from Morgan Evans in November 2022.
Chase Stokes was in awe of Kelsea Ballerini just three days before their breakup made headlines. “The last week of turning thirty-one was fun,” Ballerini, now 32, wrote via her Instagram on Thursday, September 11, sharing a handful of recent photos. Stokes, 32, was the first in Ballerini’s comments section, subtly responding with a “🥵” […]
Days after Stokes wished Ballerini a happy birthday in September, We weekly confirmed they called it quits after two years of dating.
Chase Stokes, Kelsea Ballerini.
Getty Images (2)“It was a hard breakup,” a source said exclusively Us at the time. “They’ve been arguing a lot lately and their communication hasn’t been great over the past month. They’ve both been traveling so much and trying to juggle everything, and the arguments have been piling up.”
The insider revealed that Ballerini “started the conversation,” but she and Stokes acted like “mature adults and had the same understanding that they needed space.”
“There is still a lot of love between them,” the source said, adding that Ballerini and Stokes are both “extremely busy” at the moment.
The couple’s breakup was short-lived, as Stokes and Ballerini were spotted together near Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on October 13.
“They both seemed very happy and smiley,” said an eyewitness Gemma Kennedy told exclusively Usnoting that she spoke to Stokes about his holiday in Scotland, which he spent before heading to Croatia for filming Outdoor benches.
Kennedy noted that Stokes and Ballerini were “very much in love and holding hands at the bar” when she saw them.
Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes quickly became a fan-favorite couple after confirming their relationship status. The country singer and the Outer Banks star were first linked in January 2023 after they were spotted together at the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles. Thank you! You have been successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter […]
Following their European reunification – which included a joint sighting in Croatia earlier this month – Us confirmed that Stokes and Ballerini were “giving their relationship another try.”
“There’s still a lot of love there, so they fell back into it very naturally,” the source said Us on Nov. 10, adding that the duo “never really stopped keeping in touch after their brief breakup.”
According to the insider, “Kelsea wanted to give it another shot and often missed Chase,” while Stokes “never wanted to part ways.”
“[He] I always felt there was something between them and believed they just needed time to cool down and figure things out,” the source explains.
To reconnect, the insider said Us that Stokes and Ballerini had “solved some of their ‘issues’” and were “hopeful that things would go better this time.”
During their absence, Ballerini began promoting her latest EP, Mount Pleasant. When she posted a TikTok with a snippet of her song “People Pleaser,” Stokes quickly called out haters online.
“What does it mean? Getting sadder / Was it sixteen that made me not matter?” Ballerini sang in the video as she changed from a casual outfit to a red dress. “Was it Logan or Robby? Cheer captain named Carly / That made the cut deeper and messed up my body? I’ll stay sweeter, but in my dying / Call me people a favor and damned if they’re right.”
Stokes responded on TikTok on Monday, November 17, writing, “These comments are fucking weird. Grow up.”
While it’s unclear what comments Stokes was referring to, one user claimed, “OBX fans posted crap and Chase called them out so they took it down.”
