Alert! Chase Stokes And Kelsea Ballerini Are *Officially* Dating
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If you’ve been streaming Outer Banks season 3, you might be wondering if the dreamy John B., er, I mean Chase Stokes is seeing anyone right now. Of course, his relationship with fellow OBX star Madelyn Cline certainly stirred the pot back in 2020. But after the pair split in 2021, Chase was riding solo for a while. Now, two years after the co-stars' break up, the OBX star has moved on to someone new: Kelsea Ballerini.
Kelsea, you might remember, recently had a pretty public relationship, and break up, herself with Australian singer Morgan Evans. The pair got hitched in 2017, but divorced in November 2022. Then, in January 2023, Chase and Kelsea started to seem…close.
After months of public speculation, the pair have both officially confirmed they are, indeed, an item. Before popping the champagne, here’s everything to know about their relationship so far.
Early January 2023: They're first spotted together at a football game.
In January 2023, Kelsea, 29, and Chase, 30, were first seen looking a little cuddly at the 2023 College Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles (someone reportedly saw them locking arms, per US Weekly.)
Chase added to the dating rumors with an Instagram photo dump that included a pic from behind of the two watching the game. He tagged Kelsea in the picture, though, making it the hardest soft launch I've ever seen.
Kelsea commented, "go vols 🙈," on another photo, and ICYDK, that cheeky monkey emoji is almost always used flirtatiously.
Despite her emoji usage, a source confirmed to US Weekly that the pair were not yet exclusive. "Chase and Kelsea have been flirting back and forth since meeting through friends at the College Football National Championship Game in L.A., but they’re not together,” said the source. "They both think the other is very attractive, so you never know [what could happen].”
January 2023: The pair hypes each other up in the comment section.
If commenting on each other's Instagram pictures is a relationship stage, Chase and Kelsea have def hit it. The pair has commented on nearly every photo each other has posted since January 2023.
In a selection of shirtless photos Chase posted in a photo dump on January 28, 2023, Kelsea commented on the Dior shorts the OBX actor was donning. "I still stand by the dior shorts looking like bananas at first glance," she wrote.
The pair has also shared plenty of "❤️" and "🤍" emojis lately. More recently, the OBX star commented a stream of gibberish to seemingly emphasize the excitement of Kelsea's Saturday Night Live musical guest announcement (which seems more like a boyfriend move than a situationship, if you ask me)!
January 16, 2023: Kelsea makes a TikTok about their relationship rumors.
In mid-January, Kelsea responded to some of the rumors circulating about her relationship with Chase via TikTok. The video includes a screenshot from some speculation surrounding the couple in the background, while Kelsea films her reaction.
"I know I know. Stop reading. Stop looking. But what is happening guys?" She said. "Let's not do this."
The video didn't confirm, or deny, that Chase and Kelsea were together. "I'm about to break up with the internet 5 sure," Kelsea captioned the post.
January 18, 2023: Chase (kind of) confirms they are dating a few days later.
In a video posted by TMZ, Chase responds to the photographer's comment "I think you [and Kelsea Ballerini] make such a cute couple" with "Thank you."
Chase gave a little more insight to their relationship status, too. "She's a sweet girl. We're having a good time, and that's all I'll say," Chase said in the video.
February 21, 2023: Kelsea confirms she isn't single.
Kelsea appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and opened up about her divorce from Morgan Evans and her new perspective on dating. "I grieved a lot of the marriage in the marriage," Kelsea said. "I just felt, Why not? I've never really dated. I don't know how it works. I was like, Let's just put ourselves out there. Let's vibe."
Host Alex Cooper then asked more pointedly if Kelsea was currently single. Kelsea hesitated for a few seconds before confirming that she is, in fact, dating Chase Stokes.
"I'm tiptoeing. I'm happy," she said. "It's been a really beautiful reawakening."
Kelsea also revealed that her manager initially encouraged her to go after Chase–which she did through Instagram DMs. "I followed him, and he followed me and then I just swan dove right in," she said. "His handle is HiChaseStokes so I said 'Hi Chase Stokes.'"
March 3, 2023: Chase returns the favor.
After Kelsea's appearance on Call Her Daddy, the couple was pretty official—but Chase still hadn't given his true confirmation until a recent TODAY show appearance.
Sheinelle Jones brought up the subject first, hinting at Kelsea's appearance as the musical guest on an upcoming Saturday Night Live show, then added: "For those of you who don't know, they're... dating?"
Chase nodded, saying "Mhm." Classic man response, but hey, he confirmed it!
If you need more evidence, there were also these photos taken of the pair at a recent Rangers game, and they definitely looked cozy.
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I can't wait to see more pics of this confirmed couple. All of the greatest love stories truly start over DM, huh?
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