Kelsea Ballerini arrived at the 2025 CMA Awards without boyfriend Chase Stokes by her side.
Ballerini, 32, stepped out for the 59th annual Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday, November 19, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The singer donned a red strapless tulle gown and completed the look with matching red heels.
Ballerini is up for Female Vocalist of the Year. She will face off against Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson. In addition to being nominated, Ballerini will take the stage to perform her new song “I Sit in Parks.”
Stokes, 33, and Ballerini started dating in January 2023. Earlier this year, the pair split after two years of dating. Their breakup was short-lived, however, as Ballerini reconnected with Stokes in Europe earlier this fall.
Ballerini and Stokes “never really stopped being in touch after their brief split,” a source exclusively shared with Us Weekly at the time. “They really picked up where they left off. Kelsea wanted to give it another chance and missed Chase a lot.”
The Outer Banks actor, for his part, “never wanted the breakup” and felt “there was something between them and believed they just needed time to cool off and figure things out,” the insider added.
This has been a big month for Ballerini, as she released her new EP, Mount Pleasant, on Friday, November 14.
“To me, an EP is the safekeeping of big thoughts and important chapters,” she wrote via Instagram on Thursday, November 13, ahead of the EP’s release. “Mount Pleasant is a pulse check on myself at 32, and it’s yours tonight. No matter who you may find yourself to be in the park, I hope you find yourself somewhere in mine. everyone’s welcome ❤️.”
After the album dropped, the singer shared a snippet of the track “People Pleaser” on her TikTok page.
“What does it mean? Keeps getting sadder / Was it sixteen that made me not matter?” Ballerini sang in the video. “Was it Logan or Robby? Cheer captain named Carly / That made the cut deeper and messed up my body? I’ll keep being sweeter, but at my demise / Call me people pleaser and damn if they’re right.”
Ballerini captioned the clip, “For my fellow people pleasers. I see you.”
Stokes later replied to the video, calling out some fans for their “weird” reactions in the comments section.
“These comments are f***ing weird,” he wrote on Monday, November 17. “Grow up.”
While it is unclear what Stokes was referring to, some fans speculated that Outer Banks fans “were posting nonsense.” Some fans have theorized that Ballerini wrote her song “Emerald City” about Stokes’ ex and former costar Madelyn Cline. (Stokes and Cline dated before his romance with Ballerini.)
“I always liked the color of my eyes ’til I knew she had brown / I’m green/ Always liked my naive innocence ’til I learned she got around / I’m green,” Ballerini sings on the song which is about jealousy. “If I got you, why does she still get me? / I hate to say it, but damn, she’s pretty / Never known this shade of envy / Just tell me I’m your Emerald City.”
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