Chase Stokes Tributes Kelsea Ballerini: 'I Just Love The Girl To Pieces'

Chase Stokes spotlighted his girlfriend, country superstar Kelsea Ballerini, for her unwavering authenticity and deep vulnerability, especially as she released Rolling Up The Welcome Mat earlier this year.

Ballerini was revealed among Entertainment Weekly’s 2023 Entertainers of the Year — alongside Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and others — and Stokes wrote a heartfelt tribute to her. The Outer Banks star remembered listening to Ballerini’s powerful EP, which tells her side of heartbreak and healing after her divorce, for the first time. It was before the couple met in person, and before Ballerini knew how she’d debut the project to the world. Stokes said it’s been a “really cool journey,” watching how the songs resonated with crowds shortly after its release all the way to Ballerini’s sold-out hometown show last month at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“That level of vulnerability and honesty has completely shifted her career,” Stokes said in his tribute, in part. He added later: “To be that person's partner and to watch all of this happen in front of my eyes has been so cool. Proud feels like a really lame way of saying it but I'm so f---ing proud. She's touched a lot of women who have been dealing with the same thing and to be a voice for those who didn't feel like they had a voice in that space, I think, should and will be one of the most proud moments of her career.

“She literally is the best person on planet earth. Every day together is either a comedy show or a life talk that I didn't know I needed to have that ended up being something I'll never forget. I just love the girl to pieces and I'm so f----ing proud of her.”

Read the full tribute here.

Ballerini and Stokes began talking in December 2022, when Ballerini slid into Stokes’ DMs on Instagram (she’s since shared the screenshot of the couple’s first conversation). They stirred relationship rumors when Stokes posted a photo with the “HEARTFIRST” artist’s at the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 9. Ballerini confirmed the budding romance in an interview the following month.

Ballerini released Rolling Up The Welcome Mat and its accompanying short film on Valentine’s Day. She shared with iHeartRadio earlier this year that the therapeutic EP was “necessary” to write, and she extended the project with fan-favorite lyric updates — including in “Blindsided” and “Penthouse,” — and adding a new track about dating again after divorce. Ballerini premiered the “How Do I Do This” music video earlier this month, marking a full-circle moment. Among other nods, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat earned a 2024 GRAMMY Awards nomination in the Best Country Album category. Since releasing Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, Ballerini has been writing about the current chapter of her life. She delivered the first-ever live performance of “To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak” with surprise guests Karen Fairchild and Hillary Lindsey at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The reality is, I’ve been singing about a chapter of my life that is far past me now,” Ballerini said on the Opry stage that night. “And I’m writing about the chapter of life that I’m in, and it looks very different, and I kind of wanted to share a bit of it now. I’m very gently and slowly starting to make the next record. I really want to take the time to handle it with care.”