Kelsea Ballerini Promises Not to Overshare in 2026

At the 2026 GRAMMY Awards, Kelsea Ballerini, a Best Contemporary Country Album nominee for Patterns, reiterated one of her “2026 outs”: oversharing. After years of being what she called a “chronic oversharer,” the 32-year-old singer vowed to rein it in this year.  

The decision to keep her personal life more private came after news that she and ex-boyfriend, actor Chase Stokes, rekindled their romance. Ballerini said, “I've always been a chronic oversharer and I think for the first time, at 32 I'm reigning it in. I think my life might just be my life for a while. It feels right.”  

During the red carpet pre-show, she shared the same sentiment, while also talking about the things she learned while making Patterns. “I've been such a chronic people pleaser for my whole life and most of my career. I think I'm starting to shift that in a healthy way."  

Ballerini and Stokes have been rumored to be together since January 2023 when Stokes shared a photo of them cuddling while watching the Georgia vs. TCU game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. They seemingly hard-launched their relationship in April 2023 when they walked the red carpet at the CMT Awards together. In September last year, they reportedly called it quits. However, the breakup didn’t last long and around November, news that they were back together began circulating.  

The “I Sit in Parks” singer reflected on the public’s interest in the breakup and eventual reconciliation, “I feel like outwardly, it looked a lot more dramatic than it was. And that was quite the learning lesson for us. But I love him so much.”  

She added, “We’ve been together for quite a while now and done a lot of life together and he was with me getting ready today and he’ll be with me when we wrap. I love love and I believe it in it.”