Kelsea Ballerini Made The First Move On New Boyfriend Chase Stokes

Fans are awaiting the fate of John B. and Sarah on Outer Banks Season 3, which starts streaming on Netflix on Feb. 23. But in real life, Chase Stokes has moved on after announcing his split from co-star Madelyn Cline in November 2021. The 30-year-old actor is currently dating Kelsea Ballerini, as she confirmed on the Feb. 22 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. The country singer said she felt ready to date soon after divorcing her husband of five years, Morgan Evans. “I just felt, why not?” she told host Alex Cooper. “I’ve never really dated. I don’t know how it works. I’m like, ‘Let’s just put ourselves out there; let’s just vibe.’”

Clearly, the first person she vibed with was Stokes, whom she DMed after they followed each other on Instagram, at the encouragement of her manager. “He shoots [Outer Banks] in Charleston, and my manager lives there,” she explained. “He was like, ‘You know who’s really cute, like, when you’re ready? Chase.’ I was like, ‘You’re so right.’ I’ve never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in.” Making the first move, she kept her opening message simple yet clever. “His handle is @hichasestokes, and I said, ‘Hi, Chase Stokes,’” she said.

Stokes first sparked dating rumors with Ballerini in January after he posted a photo of them cuddling at a football game on said Instagram account, as part of a slideshow.

In a Feb. 8 interview with People, the Outer Banks star said he and Ballerini “have just been spending some time together,” calling her “a lovely, lovely girl.” However, the two kept leaving flirty and funny comments on each other’s Instagram posts, and Ballerini even posted a video of Stokes cuddling in bed on TikTok, making it pretty clear that a new romance was blossoming.

After Ballerini released her surprise EP and short film Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which details her feelings about her divorce from Evans, on Valentine’s Day, Stokes took to his Instagram story to lavish praise, sharing a photo of them smiling and hugging. “So proud of you, your heart and your beautiful soul,” he wrote. “Congrats Kels.”