Hi. That’s pretty much what country singer Kelsea Ballerini said to her actor boyfriend, Chase Stokes when they spoke for the first time on Instagram. Ahead, how Ballerini slid into the Outer Banks star’s DMs and how he replied. Plus, how their first meeting resembled something out of a TV show or a song.
Ballerini met Stokes by sending him a message on Instagram
During a February 2023 guest spot on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Ballerini opened up about her relationship with Stokes.
“I’m not going to get on an app,” she said. So she went another route—she slid into his DMs. “I’ve never seen his show. But I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in.”
“I was ready to open back up,” she told host Alex Cooper. Ballerini announced her divorce from Australian country music star Morgan Evans after five years of marriage in August 2022.
“I just felt, why not?” the now-31-year-old continued. “I never really dated; I don’t know how it works. I’m like, ‘Let’s just put ourselves out there; let’s just vibe.’ And it’s been fun.”
The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer said she messaged Stokes after her manager said something to her about him. “[My manager] was like, ‘You know who’s really cute, like, when you’re ready? Chase,’” Ballerini recalled. “I was like, ‘You’re so right.’”
The pair first sparked rumors they were dating in January 2023 when they were seen together at a college football playoff game. Ballerini confirmed she and Stokes were dating on the podcast a month later.
What Ballerini said to her actor boyfriend: ‘Hi, Chase Stokes’
The country singer kept it very simple when she first reached out to Stokes on Instagram. She broke the ice by repeating his Instagram handle back to him. “His handle is ‘@hichasestokes,’ and I said, ‘Hi, Chase Stokes,’” she told Cooper.
Ballerini has since revealed how Stokes responded to her initial message. Wishing him a happy birthday on Sept. 16, 2024—the actor turned 32—she included a screenshot of their first few Instagram DMs.
She sent her first message at 1:07 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2022 (via New York Post). “Hey there how u doin,” Stokes replied. At that Ballerini wrote back, “I’m Kels, nice to meet you,” alongside a blushing smiley face emoji.
Stokes kissed Ballerini the moment they met in person
Elsewhere on the podcast, the “Two Things” singer opened up about her and Stokes’ first kiss. After their initial DMs on Instagram and subsequent texts and FaceTime calls, they finally met in person in January 2023 when the Outer Banks star went to a party where Ballerini was performing.
Stokes, Ballerini recalled, simply walked up and kissed her. “He hopped out of his Bronco, and he did not say a word to me,” she remembered. “And he grabbed my face, and he kissed me, and he pulled my face away, and he said, ‘Thank God you’re real.’”
