Kelsea Ballerini is opening up about her relationship with actor Chase Stokes. The couple, who began dating in 2023, announced their split last fall, later revealing that they had gotten back together. Now, the “Baggage” singer is sharing what their life is like now.
“I feel like outwardly, it looked a lot more dramatic than it was,” Ballerini tells Entertainment Tonight. “And that was quite the learning lesson for us. But I love him so much. We’ve been together for quite a while now and done a lot of life together. … I love love, and I believe it in it. And also, I believe so much in finding the things that make you happy, and finding the things that you want to work on, and figuring out when the rubber meets the road, how to make that work.”
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Kelsea Ballerini Vows to Keep More of Her Life Private in 2026
Much of Ballerini’s relationship with Stokes was shared on social media. But in 2026, Ballerini says she plans on keeping more of her life private, especially details about her personal life.
“I’ve always been a chronic oversharer. And I think for the first time, at 32 I’m reigning it in,” Ballerni says (via People). “I think my life might just be my life for a while. It feels right.”
“I’ve been such a chronic people pleaser for my whole life and most of my career,” she adds. “I think I’m starting to shift that in a healthy way.”
Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘Mount Pleasant’ EP and “I Sit in Parks” Single
Ballerini is also enjoying a new musical chapter. In November, Ballerini released her six-track Mount Pleasant EP. The record includes her current hit single, “I Sit in Parks,” a song she wrote by herself.
A song about her own reflection at choosing a career over family, “I Sit in Parks” says, “Did I miss it? By now, is it / A lucid dream? Is it my fault / For chasing things? A body clock / Doesn’t wait for, I did the damn tour / It’s what I wanted, what I got / I spun around and then I stopped / And wonder if I missed the mark / So I sit in parks.”
“Having all these feelings come up to the surface, and having all this time and space to not run from it,” Ballerini says of the project. “And so I think for me, the safest place to capture those feelings and escort them on their way, is to write. I think I felt so satisfied with the story Patterns, but that again, it wasn’t up to date with what I was experiencing, and what I am. And so, I just started writing, and it started with ‘I Sit in Parks.’”