Chase Stokes Seems To Reveal He & Kelsea Ballerini Broke Up Again

What started as a flirty DM and blossomed into one of the cutest celebrity relationships has come to a confusing end — maybe? Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini were first reported to have broken up by People on Sept. 14. Since then, a source has revealed why the couple called it quits — but Ballerini seemed to disagree with the insider’s assessment. Even more recently, their status has become quite unclear, with reconciliation rumors followed by some unsettling Instagram posts.

Shortly after the breakup news, Ballerini posted a TikTok to Ariana Grande’s song “shut up” — specifically, the lyrics that suggest, “Maybe you should shut up.” The country singer made it very clear who the video was directed to: “cc: speculators, ‘sources’, and hidden cameras outside the hair salon. let us be. please. ❤️‍🩹.”

One day earlier, on Sept. 22, an insider told Us Weekly that the breakup was a “hard split.” Apparently, they’ve both been “extremely busy,” but were still “trying to make it work.” The source added, “They had been arguing a lot recently, and their communication wasn’t great in the last month. They were both traveling so much and trying to juggle everything, and the arguments piled up.”

According to the source, Ballerini “initiated the conversation.” However, they both acted like “mature adults and had the same understanding that they needed space.”

“There is still a lot of love between them,” the insider continued. “Although it’s been a few years, Kelsea is still coming out of a divorce and figuring out what she really wants, and she’s not in a place where she’s going to just settle. Chase understood that, but in the end, they realized they weren’t aligning the way they hoped.”

According to People’s Sept. 14 report, “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.”

However, things have gotten a lot more confusing since then. On Nov. 10, it was reported that Stokes and Ballerini had gotten back together after about two months apart. But the good times didn’t last long. Just days later, Ballerini release her song “Emerald City,” which was widely believed to be inspired by jealous feelings of Stokes’ ex Madelyn Cline. Stokes didn’t exactly help things when he showed up in Ballerini’s TikTok comments, calling the speculation about the song “f*cking weird” and telling commenters to “grow up.”

Then, on Nov. 20, Stokes shared a couple cryptic messages to his Instagram Story that seemed to imply the couple had ended things again. “Don’t believe the media. I’m blocked. I did nothing wrong,” Stokes wrote. “Sorry. I tried.”

A second message read: “I’m sorry for those who believed in us. It is what it is. Onwards and upwards.”

Stokes and Ballerini’s relationship began with a simple DM at the end of 2022. Ballerini, who had just finalized her divorce from ex-husband Morgan Evans, sent Stokes a late-night message introducing herself in December of that year, and he responded a couple hours later. At the time, Stokes had been single for over a year after his public breakup with Outer Banks co-star Madelyn Cline.

By February 2023, the two stars confirmed they were in a relationship, and their romance hit high-gear, as the couple never missed a chance to show some PDA on a red carpet or gush about each other in love songs.

But sadly, it sounds like the Stokes and Ballerini are playing a different tune now.