Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini have officially called it quits after nearly three years together.
The country music star and the Outer Banks actor, both 32, have split, a rep for Ballerini confirmed to People on September 14. “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,” sources close to the couple told People exclusively.
The breakup news comes as a surprise to many, especially considering the pair were celebrating big milestones just days earlier. On September 12, Chase honored Kelsea’s 32nd birthday with a heartfelt Instagram post, seemingly hinting at a shared future.
“Although you keep saying you’re not excited for 32,” he wrote alongside a carousel of memories that included a cozy New York Knicks date night, a private jet selfie, and a cheeky shot of their shadows flipping the bird, “I’d say I’m lookin’ forward to more of this.” He ended the tribute with, “Happy birthday my love.”
A post shared by @hichasestokes
But just two days later, everything changed. What was supposed to be a new chapter for Kelsea turned out to be the start of her solo era.
Breakup speculation had already been brewing in the weeks prior, after eagle-eyed fans noticed that Kelsea had quietly scrubbed a few social media posts featuring Chase. At the time, Chase seemed to brush off the chatter by posting a sweet photo of her dog, Dibs, but now it appears the whispers weren’t entirely unfounded.
Since going public with their romance at the CMT Awards in April 2023, Chase had regularly given fans glimpses into their love story, from red carpet date nights to playful social media shoutouts. Still, he’d always been clear that most of their relationship stayed behind closed doors.
“Sometimes it feels like maybe it’s an oversharing situation, or maybe there’s a lot of details,” he told E! News last September. “But I truthfully believe that my personal life is really, really private. For the most part, I still feel like I have a really good grasp on my privacy.”
Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes Cozy up on Date Night at TIME100 Event
The pair first sparked dating rumors in January 2023 after Chase shared a cuddly snap of them at the Georgia vs. TCU National Championship at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. From there, they slowly opened up, with Chase revealing to People in September 2024 that they made their relationship work by “never going more than three weeks” without seeing each other. “If we need to make the effort to show up when one’s across the country, we do it,” he said at the time. “The amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives.”
