Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes's On-Again, Off-Again Relationship Is Giving Us Whiplash

Celebrity couples seem to be either people's favorite thing in the world or their favorite thing to hate. People who lived through the '90s and '00s might remember a number of high-profile celebrity couples that people definitely loved to hate, but these days, it seems like people are about more positive vibes.

This is a good thing for couples like Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes, whose relationship timeline seems to include some bizarre false starts and stops. Their on-again, off-again relationship is giving us a little bit of whiplash, but here's a look at how they got from first "hello" to today.

Kelsea and Chase's love story all started in 2023. At least, that's when the public found out about them. According to People, Jan. 13, 2023, is when Chase "soft-launched" their relationship by sharing a picture of the two of them on his social media.

Kelsea was coy about it with fans, but they were spotted on a date together in Nashville later that same month.

In a February episode of Call Her Daddy, Kelsea revealed that their relationship started because she slid into his DMs. She admitted, "I've never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in."

For the next two months, they were the Insta-perfect couple as they started to nurture their relationship.

In June 2023, Chase admitted that he was happy to take the role of Kelsea's "golden retriever boyfriend." He told Entertainment Tonight, "I'll take the job, I'll take it. She seriously is the best human being on planet Earth, and she's so d--n talented."

In January 2024, the couple celebrated their one-year anniversary together. For the next six months, they would make several public appearances together and appeared happy to support one another's careers.

In September 2024, Chase told People that one of the rules of their relationship is that they don't spend more than three weeks apart. And it seemed to work for the two. At least for a while.

By the end of 2024, the two had moved in together and seemed as in love as ever. They made fewer headlines but shared more photos of the two of them living life together.

Early 2025 was relatively low drama at the start for Chase and Kelsea. But by September 2025, something had changed. The two announced their breakup, with a statement from a rep sent to People which read, “They’re two adults who gave it their all and tried to do everything they could to make it work, but ultimately couldn’t. It happens."

A month or two later, the two seemed to reunite, and fans lost their mind over the return of the storybook couple. But, abruptly in November 2025, Chase announced that he had been blocked as the two seemed to split again.

In a series of since-deleted posts to social media, Chase wrote, "Don't believe the media. I'm blocked, I did nothing wrong. Sorry. I tried." He added, "I'm sorry for those who believed in us. It is what it is. Onwards and upwards" (excerpts via People).

But on Dec. 31, 2025, Kelsea shared a since-deleted story which showed the two of them kissing, captioning it, "Messy year for the heart, messy year for the outside coming in, messy year for the way it became an out of our hands portrayal of it. But what I’ll say, and all I really care to share indefinitely with my personal life anymore, is that I really love love. I believe in it, I believe in him, and I believe in breaking patterns. Now go kiss your person and stop speculating" (excerpts via Elle).

Chase followed it up with his own post, writing, “Something I’ve learned this year: Don’t take advantage of the most beautiful things that in 33 years of life are fleeting. Take accountability, learn from mistakes. Lean into love and say it often. 2026 my year of growth, my year of truth. Starting here, starting now. Happy new years" (excerpt via Elle).

So, for now at least, they appear to be back together.