How Chase Stokes Seemingly Reacted To Rumors Of Split From Kelsea Ballerini

Chase Stokes seemingly had a subtly way of shutting down rumors of a breakup with Kelsea Ballerini.

Some social media commenters have reportedly speculated that the actor and the country star parted ways after Ballerini apparently deleted an Instagram post and TikToks that included Stokes. The Outer Banks star, however, shared a photo on his Instagram story that appeared to be a subtle response to the rumors. The since-expired photo showed Ballerini’s beloved dog, Dibs, with a red heart emoji. Ballerini said her dog, who is battling cancer, is “my best friend forever” when she marked his 10th birthday in June.

Ballerini and Stokes began talking when she slid into his DMs in December 2022. Stokes sparked dating rumors when he shared a photo of the couple sitting closely together at the College Football Playoff National Championship in January 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Ballerini confirmed her relationship with Stokes the following month in an interview on Call Her Daddy. Ballerini and Stokes celebrated two years of dating earlier this year.

The “First Rodeo” artist, who credited Stokes with inspiring her to write romantic songs, told Entertainment Tonight when asked about the “hottest part” about Stokes in October 2024 that “it is very underrated for a man to be like, really proud of his relationship. He posted that photo of us at the National Championship before we even had the conversation of, like, ‘are we together?’ Even as a very independently-wired woman, I love when he’s like, ‘this is us. Here we are.’ …He full sent that.”

Ballerini also shared her thoughts about marriage in an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year. She was asked, “do you still believe in marriage?” She replied with a laugh: “I do. I do. I definitely do. I’ve learned so much, and I’ve grown up a lot. ...I love love, and I think different people have different goals and what it can look like, you know? I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds, but I value partnership very heavily …I’m open, but who knows.”