The internet was thrown for a loop when a source revealed that Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes had split. After nearly 3 years of dating, many were surprised to hear that this couple ending things just last week. Now, it's been revealed that Ballerini, 32, might have been the one who called it off on their romance. Here's why.
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It seems that Ballerini might not be ready to settle down just yet, a source revealed. "She's not in a place where she's going to just settle." They said of Stokes, "Chase understood that, but in the end, they realized they weren't aligning the way they hoped."
According to a source from US Weekly, "It was a hard split. [Kelsea and Chase] had been arguing a lot recently, and their communication wasn't great in the last month. They were both traveling so much and trying to juggle everything, and the arguments piled up."
There seems to be "still a lot of love between them," even though Kelsea was the one who initiated the split. It looks like they both handled the breakup maturely; they simply concluded that space was what they needed.
A Short Timeline of Ballerini and Stokes' Relationship
Apparently, Ballerini is still "figuring out what she wants" after coming out of a divorce. Kelsea reached out to Chase Stokes in December of 2022, shortly after she'd separated from Morgan Evans. It was through her relationship with Evans that Ballerini realized marriage wasn't something she wanted, but rather something she chose due to public pressure to remain with her partner.
After a few flirty DMs and choosing a date, Stokes and Ballerini went on their first date together in January of 2023. That February, it was Kelsea who confirmed their relationship in an interview. The couple later made their first public appearance at the CMT Awards that year, and the rest was history.
A mere few days before their breakup was made public, Stokes shared a celebratory post on Instagram for Ballerini's birthday. "Although you keep saying you're not excited for 32," he captioned a series of pictures, "I'd say I'm lookin' forward to more of this."
It's hard to tell if this breakup is looking like more of a temporary split or a permanent decision for Ballerini and Stokes. At the end of the day, we hope they do what's best for them, even if that's not finding their way back to each other.
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