Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes Call it Quits After Nearly Three Years of Dating

This week, the country and entertainment world paused: Kelsea Ballerini and actor Chase Stokes have officially split, ending their relationship after almost three years of dating. Here’s what happened between the two and why their relationship didn’t become happily ever after. 

A source close to the couple broke the sad news to PEOPLE: “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 exes first sparked dating rumors in January 2023 when Stokes shared a photo of the two of them cuddling while watching the Georgia vs. TCU game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. They seemingly confirmed their relationship in April 2023 when they walked the red carpet at the CMT Awards together.

It’s such a shame they weren’t able to make the relationship work because in previous interviews, they sound like a match made in heaven. Despite their busy schedules, Stokes said he couldn’t go without seeing Ballerini for more than three weeks: “If we need to make the effort to show up when one's across the country, we do it. The amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives." 

He added, “It's not always easy and it's not always convenient, but having a big, beautiful life didn't come from convenience or ease.” 

Ballerini, who was married to Australian country singer Morgan Evans from 2017 to 2022, opened up about “the nuance” of falling in love with the Outer Banks actor. She told Women’s Health last year, “It’s the in-between moments. How do we get to the happy-go-lucky, mushy-gushy phase? This is the process, but it took a lot of sorting through baggage together. I think we’re both really proud of that.” 

Stokes’ last post on his Instagram account is a series of photos of the two of them in a tribute to the singer’s birthday. He captioned the post with “although you keep saying you’re not excited for 32, id say I’m lookin forward to more of this. happy birthday my love” with a red heart emoji. As of now, all their photos together are still up on their Instagram accounts.