Yahoo Lifestyle Chase Stokes’ Latest Instagram With Kelsea Ballerini Has Fans Spiraling
Believe it or not, it’s been almost two years since Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini first sparked dating rumors, and yep, the couple is still going strong as ever. Speculation about Kelsea and Chase’s romance first started after the Outer Banks star posted a pic of himself and the country singer at a football game on Instagram—and as they say, the rest is history. Let’s get into all the deets about these two and their romance, shall we?
January 13, 2023
Ah, the post that started it all! Chase takes to Instagram to low-key launch his and Kelsea’s relationship love of football in a photo dump that features a sweet pic of them watching the college football national championship game between the University of Georgia and Texas Christian University. Cue the dating rumors.
January 16, 2023
Another day, another way to subtly address the dating rumors on a different social media platform. This time, it’s Kelsea who posts a cryptic TikTok that includes a screenshot from the celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi about her and Chase.
“I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,” the singer begins, a screenshot insinuating that she and the actor are a PR stunt posted behind her. “Stop reading, stop reading. Stop looking. But what is happening, guys? What? What? What? No, let’s not do this, you know?”
“I’m about to break up with the internet 5 sure 😂” is the caption to the video. 👀
January 17, 2023
Chase actually addresses the relationship speculation IRL during a convo with TMZ. The actor calls Kelsea a “sweet girl” and adds, “We’re having a good time, and that’s all I’ll say.” In-ter-est-ing!
January 29, 2023
TMZ snaps some preeeeetty spicy images and video footage of Kelsea and Chase kissing, hugging, and holding hands at California’s LAX airport. The proof is in the pap pics, people!
February 8, 2023
During an interview with People tied to the premiere of Outer Banks season 3, Chase is asked about the pic he posted of himself and Kelsea, and he confirms that they “have just been spending some time together.”
He continues, “Kelsea is a lovely, lovely girl. She’s great. We’re having a good time.”
That VERY SAME DAY, Kelsea reposts a comment by someone who has written “@hichasestokes come get your girl” with a TikTok of herself sitting up in bed while wearing eye patches and sipping out of a teacup. She smiles to the camera and casually leans over to reveal what appears to be Chase’s tattooed arm.
February 14, 2023
Kelsea drops Rolling Up the Welcome Mat—an EP partially about her divorce from Morgan Evans—and on Valentine’s Day, no less. To show his support, Chase takes to his Instagram Stories to congratulate the country singer’s project. “So proud of you, your heart & your beautiful soul. Congrats Kels ❤️,” he writes alongside a v tender pic of himself and Kelsea.
February 22, 2023
During a Call Her Daddy appearance, Kelsea reveals the coy way she and Chase first began talking: a DM slide. 😂
“I was ready to open back up,” the singer confesses to host Alex Cooper. “I just felt, why not? I’ve never really dated; I don’t know how it works. I’m like, ‘Let’s just put ourselves out there; let’s just vibe.’ And it’s been fun.”
The musician says she slid into Chase’s DMs after the two started following each other on Instagram. “I’ve never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in... His handle is ‘@hichasestokes’ and I said, ‘Hi, Chase Stokes.’” S’cute!
Kelsea also opens up about her ex Morgan and learning to put her own feelings first.
“I’m not married to him anymore, and I don’t need to care about his feelings anymore,” she says. “And I mean that with all the respect in the world, but his journey is not mine anymore. And so I hope that he is protected from whatever he needs to be protected from seeing. I hope he has people in his life that help him do that. That is not my job.”
February 23, 2023
During the premiere of Outer Banks season 3, Chase shares a touching tribute on his Instagram Stories that features Kelsea giving him a kiss.
The same day, Kelsea takes to her Stories to promote the new season of Outer Banks herself. We love a supportive partner!
March 2, 2023
The duo has a sweet date night at Madison Square Garden when they attend the New York Rangers game against the Ottawa Senators. During the event, the songstress and actor are even photographed sharing a kiss from their seats. Oop!
March 3, 2023
After months of social media posts that made their ’ship pretty damn clear, Chase finally *officially* confirms his coupled-up status during an appearance on the Today show. When Sheinelle Jones asks Chase flat-out if he’s dating Kelsea Ballerini, he smiles and says, “Mmhmm,” officially confirming the romance!
When Jones mentions Kelsea’s upcoming SNL appearance and asks if Chase is a fan, he answers like any good S.O. would, saying, “Absolutely I’m a fan. Yeah, who isn’t a fan?”
March 4, 2023
Kelsea is the musical performer during the March 4, 2023 episode of SNL and has the ultimate support system with her…aka Chase! Before the singer hops onstage, the two fool around and show off their goofier sides:
And immediately following the show, the actor shares tributes to his girlfriend on his Instagram Story. In one of the pics, he’s seen smiling next to the singer’s dressing room with the caption, “Well, sh*t. That was special. Proud of you my love.”
Kelsea herself also shares some behind-the-scenes content of the night, posting a carousel that includes the cutest snapshots of herself and the actor.
March 7, 2023
Kelsea shuts down claims that she and Chase are a PR stunt with a simple Insta Story.
April 2, 2023
Chase and Kelsea go red carpet official at the CMT Awards and the photos are too cute.
June 20, 2023
After being dubbed a “golden retriever boyfriend,” Chase tells Entertainment Tonight, “I’ll take the job. I’ll take it. I’ve got a golden retriever, half a golden retriever, he’s a golden retriever/German shepherd. But yeah, adds up. I’ll take it.”
July 2, 2023
Kelsea celebrates the end of her tour with a cute pic of Chase (swipe!).
August 20, 2023
Kelsea drops a never-before-seen video of herself getting ready for her very first date with Chase. It’s all very cute, so prepare accordingly.
August 31, 2023
Kelsea plants a 🥺 kiss on Chase’s cheek while the celebs attend Variety and the Golden Globes’ Venice Film Festival party. Ahem, observe:
September 12, 2023
In a touching Instagram post, Chase wishes Kelsea a happy 30th birthday and gushes, “Dirty 30 looks pretty damn good on you ballerini. i love you ❤️.”
That same night, the two have an iconic date night at the MTV VMAs in matching red ’fits. You know what they say: The couple that slays together stays together!
Couldn’t be more obsessed if I tried!
September 14, 2023
A few days after Kelsea’s birthday and VMAs festivities, she posts a behind-the-scenes photo dump on her Instagram grid. Of course, it features relatable moments—I’ve never felt more seen than when she’s literally emulating the🧍♀️emoji in front of that window—and includes a super-sweet pic with Chase:
The arm around his shoulder? The smiles? The shared experience of gazing at Chase’s phone screen, probably watching Kelsea’s ~iconic~ VMAs performance? Rating this moment 10,000/10, tysm. 🤌
September 16, 2023
The Insta posts just keep on coming, and I’m now realizing that both Chase and Kelsea are Virgos...interesting. 👀 The Rolling Up the Welcome Mat singer posted another photo dump, this time celebrating her beau’s birthday with a sweet tribute post. Throughout the carousel, we see sweet selfies, silly videos of the duo taking part in hilarious TikTok trends, and even their first-ever DM exchange (!!!).
The DM that kick-started their adorable relationship, you might ask? “Hiii Chase Stokes.” Honestly, Kelsea’s rizz is unparalleled.
October 24, 2023
Kelsea opens up about her sweet ’ship during her cover story for Nylon’s It Girl Issue, gushing, “We are both very much so golden-retriever energy most of the time, but we both have a little bite in us, and we’re both incredibly driven. He is the first person I’ve been in a relationship with that I feel like is not my complete opposite.”
The musician also reflects on the early days of her relationship with the actor, which began with a first date in Los Angeles. “I really did [know] as soon as I met him,” she begins before adding, “And maybe that sounds like I’ve learned zero things, but I’ve always been a heart-first girl and the truth is it’s never led me astray. I’ve always been where I needed to be while I needed to be there.”
October 25, 2023
She’s Barbie...and he’s just Ken, lol.
November 6, 2023
While at the CFDA Awards in NYC, Chase reveals that he legit cried while watching his girlfriend perform in her hometown for her Heartfirst Tour. “I’m still recouping my hearing from how loud it was…for her to go back to her hometown and to sell out an arena, like that stage—it was the coolest thing. I cried the whole time,” he confesses to People.
He also adds, “Her mom was there and her sister was there, her family was there. It’s a magical moment when you see somebody who at 12 years old wanted to have this dream and then to go back to her hometown and do exactly what she set out to do—I mean there’s no way to be more proud.”
’Kay, did nawt expect to be out here crying this morning, but here we are!
November 8, 2023
Chase and Kelsea hit the red carpet at the 57th annual CMAs in Nashville and look literally perfect/so in love:
November 23, 2023
Kelsea drops a photo dump on Thanksgiving to shout out all the people she’s grateful for... including BF Chase, who leaves this comment: “Thankful for you ❤️.”
November 29, 2023
Kelsea makes another appearance on Call Her Daddy and gets incredibly real about her ’ship with Chase. “He’s the most emotionally intelligent man I’ve ever met in my life,” Kelsea tells Alex Cooper. “I keep telling him he’s a man written by a woman.”
Kelsea also reveals that her relationship with the Outer Banks star changed her perception of sex, saying, “My experience with it was very performative and for the other person. It don’t be like that anymore.”
She adds, “I didn’t understand how [sex] could be a real connector in a relationship. I always thought it was just something that you did…Now, I realize it’s a connector for people.”
December 25, 2023
Kelsea and Chase spend Christmas together! And wear matching “Horny” sweaters.
January 7, 2024
The celebs pen the sweetest tributes to each other on Instagram in honor of their first anniversary.
March 20, 2024
The Outer Banks star gushes about how incredible his ’ship with Kelsea is to OK! Magazine. Ahem: “It’s been my favorite chapter of life, and she’s such a special human being.”
The actor also reveals that what makes their romance so amazing is how much they are there for each other. “I’ve been able to go on the road with her and watch her in her element. She’s been able to come and watch me work as well, so we’ve just been really, really loving this chapter of life, which has been great,” he muses.
April 7, 2024
Kelsea and Chase step out for the CMT Awards and look beyond in love. I meannnnn:
May 6, 2024
It’s the first Monday in May (IYKYK), and these two are celebrating.
June 10, 2024
These photos posted by Chase? Everything.
August 15, 2024
The pair goes to the opening night of the Intuit Dome in L.A. and have truly never looked cuter.
September 12, 2024
Kelsea attends the premiere of Chase’s movie Uglies and poses by his side.
Oh, and because it’s her birthday, Chase also drops a sweet birthday photo dump.
September 16, 2024
Time for Kelsea’s IG birthday tribute for Chase!
September 18, 2024
A few days later, Chase supports Kelsea’s acting debut in Doctor Odyssey, attending the premiere as her date.
As Kelsea later tells People, Chase really helped Kelsea branch into acting. As she explains, “I’ve always called acting his world, and so whenever I was asking him questions about this opportunity, I was like, ‘What about this in your world?’ And he was like, ‘Hey, it’s just a world. I’m a part of it and now you’re a part of it.’”
September 26, 2024
And a few days after THAT, the couple rolls up at the People’s Choice Country Awards. Talk about booked and busy!
October 16, 2024
Kelsea drops the music video for “First Rodeo,” which features her boyfriend—and according to her, he inspired the song as well!
During an interview with People, Kelsea talks about how Chase has helped support her writing. “I’m really proud of the art that he’s inspired,” she says. “And I’m really proud to be with someone who’s a truth-teller in his own art, too. And to be aligned in that way and to share parts of our relationship and that kind of stuff, so openly and willingly, is really beautiful.”
Watch the full video for “First Rodeo” here:
October 25, 2024
Kelsea confirms the!!!! news to People that she and Chase are officially living together, saying, “Oh, we’re unpacked, baby!” The announcement is made while the musician opens up about the track “Baggage” off her latest album Patterns, which contains the sweet lyrics, “Boy, I know the weight and gravity / Of keychains with same keys / But if you want that welcome mat / Then roll it up with me.”
Real fans know that those words are also a nod to the musician’s last album Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which she released early in 2023 and put out as a divorce project amid her split from Morgan Evans.
And btw: Just a day earlier, when asked by E! News whether she would be open to marrying Chase, Kelsea says she would “never say never” to the possibility. “Anything that I’ve said a hard no to in my life, I have come back and challenged myself on,” she adds.
October 30, 2024
Kelsea appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote her new album Patterns, and she gets candid about an invisible string moment she had with Chase two years before they started dating. As fate would have it, the country singer witnessed Chase share a sweet interaction with a fan on an early-morning flight—but they didn’t know each other at the time.
“I was on a flight, it was like a 5 a.m.-er, ungodly hour. I was getting ready to fall asleep and there was this young girl who came up to the person sitting behind me and was just, like, freaking out, like fangirling,” Kelsea shares. “And I heard him be so lovely to her and give her so much time and attention and intention at, like, 5 a.m.”
“I turned around and I just, like, looked through the hole in my seat, and it was Chase,” she continues. “I hadn’t seen the show, but I don’t live under the rock, so I knew him. And we were obviously in very different phases of life....We never met, never said hello, but I just tucked that away as like, wow, what a good thing to witness.”
“It was just a beautiful thing to see,” she adds, noting that her boyfriend is a “good, good man.”
October 31, 2024
Chase and Kelsea dress as Grease’s lovebirds, Danny and Bad Sandy, at Heidi Klum’s iconic Heidiween party.
Chase is so into his role that he gets on the floor and lets Kelsea step on him.
November 2, 2024
Spotted: Chase and Kelsea looking 😍 at the “Poguelandia” Outer Banks experience.
November 18, 2024
At Amazon’s Holiday Soirée, Kelsea exclusively shares with Cosmo the most thoughtful gift Chase has ever given her: a ring engraved with her dog’s name, Dibby, which he gave her for her 31st birthday.
Oh, and the most thoughtful gift Kelsea has ever given Chase? An original record by James Taylor with only two songs on it, including “Fire and Rain,” which Chase’s grandmother used to sing to him. I can’t with these two.
January 1, 2025
Chase and Kelsea take to IG to post end-of-the-year pics—both of which feature each other, ofc.
And while Kelsea keeps her post simple—captioning it, “grateful to be on this floating rock for another year”—there’s something about Chase’s pic that has fans talking. Mostly, the band around his ring finger, which kiiiiiinda looks like a wedding band.
Nothing has been confirmed, and if you look back at Chase’s IG grid, you’ll see he’s often sporting rings, so this could just be an ordinary piece of jewelry. Still, we’ll be standing by for updates.
Aaaaand that’s pretty much all we know for now! Stay tuned for the next installment of their love story. ❤️
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