Kelsea Ballerini is unapologetically head-over-heels for boyfriend Chase Stokes.
After going through what the singer described a "s--tstorm" of a year in 2022, which saw her divorce Morgan Evans after five years of marriage, Kelsea acknowledged that she's now in a different place—particularly when it comes to what she publicly shares about her love life.
"I've done this for a decade. I've done the work," she said of her career in a StyleCaster profile published July 10. "But the eyeballs on the rest of my life is new, so I'm giving myself a lot of grace."
For Kelsea, that means staying true to herself and being open about her joy. As the 29-year-old explained, she and Chase, 30, don't want to hide the fact that they're dating.
"The thing that we've decided, and to each their own, is when you're with someone that you feel secure with and that you're proud to be with, why not share it?" she said. "He's also a Virgo; we're both Labrador Retrievers in human form. It doesn't take much conversation to be on the same page. It's been half a year and it's been great."
Kelsea was first linked to the Outer Banks star in January, when the two were spotted getting cozy at the College Football National Championship Game in Los Angeles. Chase confirmed their romance in March, after the pair spent two months playing coy on the relationship speculation.
They made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2023 CMT Music Awards in April, with Kelsea taking Chase to visit her hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., in the following month.
"I've realized over the last few years, as I've woken up to myself, and really stepped into my womanhood, that I'm really open to discovering more of myself," Kelsea told StyleCaster of her evolution. "I think that's translating in a lot of different ways in my life, but certainly through fashion, to being open and also realizing that it's another way to express yourself and play. I'm in such a season of play right now."
She added, "There is this huge energetic shift within you where you shed your child self and become your adult self. It's usually surrounded by a lot of friction and a lot of difficult conversations and losing people and that kind of stuff. But then you get to the other side—you're like, ‘Oh, s--t, here I am.'"