Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes appear to be back on after a complicated rough patch.
The Hollywood couple have been on and off since confirming their relationship in March 2023, quickly graduating from making subtle nods at their romance to becoming a consistent red-carpet duo. However, it seemed Ballerini and Stokes decided to go their separate ways in September 2025…until they were spotted together in Croatia in early November. Of course, it's pretty hard to get much more “off” than blocked on Instagram, which seemed to be the case by the end of the month.
If fans weren’t already getting whiplash, Stokes’s recent Instagram activity seems to confirm the split was, in fact, temporary. “What I'll say, and all I really care to share indefinitely with my personal life anymore, is that I really love love,” Ballerini wrote on her Instagram Story on New Year's Eve. "I believe in it, I believe in him, and I believe in breaking patterns. Now go kiss your person and stop speculating.”
Here’s everything we know about Ballerini and Stokes’s breakup, with the most recent updates up top.
December 31, 2025: In what must be some sort of New Year's Eve miracle, Stokes and Ballerini are back on! Stokes posts a series of photos with Ballernini from a remote cottage, including a shot of them kissing in front of a picturesque sunset. “Something I’ve learned this year: don’t take advantage of the most beautiful things that in 33 years of life are fleeting," Stokes writes. "Take accountability, learn from mistakes. Lean into love and say it often. 2026 my year of growth, my year of truth. Starting here, starting now. Happy new years ❤️”
His relationship status wasn't the only big change Stokes revealed in his post. The Outer Banks star also showed off a fresh buzz cut. "Crashed out so hard I shaved my head (again)," he wrote on his Instagram Story, per People. “Time to be funny on social media now.”
Of course, the pair are back to following each-other on Instagram and Ballerini shared a pointed message of her own on her Instagram Story. “Messy year for the heart, messy year of the outside coming in, messy year for the way it became an out of our hands portrayal of it," she wrote. "But what I'll say, and all I really care to share indefinitely with my personal life anymore, is that I really love love. I believe in it, I believe in him, and I believe in breaking patterns. Now go kiss your person and stop speculating. 😘”
November 20, 2025: As of this moment, neither Ballerini or Stokes appears to be following each other on Instagram. Stokes posts Instagrams implying he’s been blocked by Ballerini on social media, though he doesn’t specifically say her name. “Don’t believe the media. I’ve been blocked, I did nothing wrong,” he writes in the first slide, per DeuxMoi screenshots. “Sorry ❤️ I tried.”
In a follow-up post, he writes, “I’m sorry for those who believed in us. It is what it is. Onwards and upwards.”
Fans don’t quite know what to think about his posts, which are being described by some as an Instagram “crash out.” One Instagram user comments, “Him being 33 years old and positing on his insta story like that is so embarrassing lmfao,” while another writes, “‘I did nothing wrong’ tells me he most definitely did do something wrong lol.”
Many responses to DeuxMoi’s post poke fun at the actor, though some fans think people are being too judgmental. “Idk yall, a man is allowed to express his hurt,” one user writes. “If she posted this everyone would be like ‘AWWW ITS OK WE LOVE UUUU.’”
November 17, 2025: In the comments section of Ballerini’s latest TikTok post, about the Mount Pleasant song “People Pleaser,” Stokes writes, “These comments are fucking weird. Grow up.”
Per People, fans believe his comment is directed at a fan who has been peppering Ballerini's Instagram comments with photos of Stokes and his ex, his Outer Banks costar Madelyn Cline.
November 14, 2025: Kelsea Ballerini releases her latest EP, Mount Pleasant. Fans suspect that multiple songs are about Stokes, though they seem particularly hung up on “Emerald City.” In the ballad, Ballerini sings about being jealous of a “pretty” woman who “got around.” Some listeners began speculating that the woman in question was Stokes’s ex, Cline.
November 10, 2025: Sources tell Us Weekly that Ballerini and Stokes are officially back on. “Kelsea and Chase are giving their relationship another try,” one source explains. “There’s still a lot of love there, so they fell back into it very naturally.”
November 7, 2025: People shares a photo of the duo in Croatia, and the meetup doesn’t seem very platonic. “They were holding hands at the table and talking closely,” an onlooker tells the publication. “After they got up, they walked together hand in hand towards Old Town. They looked very cute.”
That very same day, Ballerini releases her single, “I Sit in Parks,” which seems to unpack her yearning for motherhood and fears that she forged the wrong path for herself.
Some are calling it “tragic” and an anti-feminist anthem. Her fans say they’re missing the point.
September 14, 2025: A rep for Ballerini confirms the pair have split. “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,” an unidentified source tells People at the time.
September 12, 2025: Stokes posts a loving tribute to Ballerini on her birthday, just two days before her rep confirms their split. “although you keep saying you’re not excited for 32, id say I’m lookin forward to more of this,” he captions the slideshow, which is still up on his feed as of November 21. “happy birthday my love ❤️”
