Celebrity Exes
Why Did Chase Stokes & Kelsea Ballerini Split? What We Know About the Breakup
Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini have been keeping low profiles since their split earlier this month. Fans were shocked to hear that the couple, who started dating in early 2023, had broken up after nearly three years together.
Because the breakup news came just days after Stokes posted a birthday tribute to the country singer, questions have arisen about what happened between the former couple. Scroll down for everything we know about why Stokes and Ballerini broke up.
Why did Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini split?
“They had been arguing a lot recently, and their communication wasn’t great in the last month,” Us Weekly reported. “They were both traveling so much and trying to juggle everything, and the arguments piled up.”
Over the summer, Stokes was spending time in South Carolina while filming the final season of Outer Banks. While Ballerini seemed to be spending a significant amount of time in Charleston as well, she’s also had plenty of her own work commitments in recent months. She was on tour during the first half of the year.
The outlet’s source reported that Ballerini was the one to “initiate the conversation” about breaking up, adding that the two are acting like “mature adults and had the same understanding that they needed space.” The two were reportedly “trying to make it work” before calling things off for good.
The insider also added, “They realized they weren’t aligning the way they hoped.”
Are Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline back together?
Following Stokes and Ballerini’s split, a subsection of Outer Banks fans began speculating that he could be getting back together with his ex, Madelyn Cline. The two still work together on Outer Banks, so they’ve been spending time together amid his issues with Ballerini in recent months.
However, there is absolutely no evidence that Stokes and Cline are a romantic item again. In fact, they’ve been working together on the Netflix show for four years since their split in 2021, so being back together on set is nothing new for them.
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix
The actors started dating after filming Season 1 in 2019 and confirmed their romance in June 2020, following the show’s release. They were together for less than two years when they broke up. “They both have busy schedules, which made it hard for them to spend a lot of time together,” Us Weekly reported at the time. “They have no bad feelings toward each other and remain friends.”
While promoting Season 3 of the hit Netflix show in 2023, Stokes and Cline made it clear that they were not letting their breakup affect their work on Outer Banks. Their characters have been in a romantic relationship throughout most of the series.
Outer Banks, Season 5, 2026, Netflix
