Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes have ended their nearly three-year relationship, Ballerini’s representative confirmed Sunday night, a split that came just 48 hours after Stokes publicly celebrated her birthday on Instagram.
An insider told the Daily Mail the breakup was driven by what they described as escalating jealousy from Stokes, saying the relationship “started off hot and heavy” but that he “started getting jealous over every little thing.” The source said that whenever Ballerini pursued her own activities, Stokes suspected she was “flirting or up to no good,” and that repeated disputes and jealousy made the relationship untenable.
The split followed a series of highly publicized displays of affection, social-media photo carousels and joint appearances that had suggested the couple was still together. Stokes had posted a birthday message for Ballerini that read, "Although you keep saying you're not excited for 32, id say I'm lookin forward to more of this. happy birthday my love," less than two days before the relationship was publicly reported as over.
Ballerini, 32, and Stokes, 33, had been together since shortly after Ballerini’s 2022 divorce from Australian country singer Morgan Evans. Ballerini has frequently spoken publicly about her past marriage and subsequent breakup, telling the Call Her Daddy podcast that she and Evans went through “years of couples therapy” and that she spent many nights sleeping on the couch during the marriage.
Stokes is also no stranger to high-profile romances. He dated his Outer Banks co-star Madelyn Cline from June 2020 until November 2021, and their split drew significant fan attention at the time. Ballerini and Stokes made several public outings together, including an appearance May 8 at the Academy of Country Music Awards where they posed for photos and showed affection.
In interviews earlier this year, Ballerini acknowledged that her relationship with Stokes had changed over time. On July 15 she told Us Weekly that being “two and a half years in” made the relationship look “a lot different now than it did in the beginning,” and she cited conflicting schedules, saying the couple’s calendars had “flip flopped” while Stokes shot the second season of Outer Banks.
The Daily Mail source suggested the struggles were not limited to scheduling. The insider said Ballerini “wasn’t doing anything wrong” but that repeated disagreements followed by Stokes’s jealousy turned the partnership into “a situation where it was a waste of time to nurture.” The source added that both could now move on to find partners better suited to them.
Fans had noted gaps in the couple’s social media presence prior to the announcement, with some observers pointing to fewer joint posts and travel photos as evidence of possible strain. The couple had publicly celebrated anniversaries and frequently shared smiling images together, but that output tapered in recent months, prompting speculation on social platforms.
Representatives for Ballerini and Stokes did not immediately provide additional comment beyond confirming the split. The Daily Mail article is the primary outlet reporting the insider’s account of jealousy as a central factor in the breakup; those claims have not been independently verified by the couple’s representatives.
Ballerini has been compared in media coverage to Taylor Swift for beginning a country-music career at a young age and for writing songs that often address personal relationships. Her career trajectory and candidness about her personal life have made details of her romances a frequent topic of public discussion.
The announcement closes a chapter on a relationship that was often visible online and at industry events, and it adds to a string of high-profile pairings and separations among Nashville and Hollywood figures. Both Ballerini and Stokes maintain active professional schedules, and publicists for both have signaled no further immediate comment as outlets seek confirmation of the reported reasons behind the split.