Kelsea Ballerini Reflects on ‘Healing’ Year With Nod to Chase Stokes

Kelsea Ballerini is rolling up the welcome mat on the year 2023.

“Three hundred and sixty five days,” Ballerini, 30, began in her Instagram post on Sunday, December 31. “Shouting on stages and them finally shouting back. Letting skin replace sequins. Sleepless nights rendering new dreams, in a little new old house with defiantly pink walls.”

The “Half of My Hometown” singer shared a black and white photo of her sipping a cup of coffee as she sat at a table in front of the Eiffel Tower. Ballerini posed in a robe with her hair wrapped up in a towel and a pair of sunglasses.

In her lengthy caption, Ballerini wrote about getting advice from a chef to “honor the taste of the ocean” as well as “learning the damn difference” between “stretching for height, not contorting for approval.”

“Following the breadcrumbs of life to the next right thing, still sometimes getting it wrong,” she continued. “Still sometimes getting it right. Crying. So much crying. Stained cheeks in front of strangers, guttural exhales to those safest.”

Ballerini reflected on “healing the past and falling in love in the present happening in lockstep,” adding that they are “unabashedly existing in the art of starting over.”

“Resenting airports and home on wheels, exhaustion outweighing presence, guilt for knowing my luck should override it all,” she wrote. “Then getting to 2:13 of track three mid set and waking back up. Every time.”

The “Hole in the Bottle” singer noted that she’s “paying less attention to the fit of the jeans, respecting the life that happens to make them a big snug or gapped at the waist.” She added that she’s “writing music like nothing is off limits, earning my artistic freedom,” and “never letting that paint dry.”

“Leaving his boots by the front door to let me know he’s coming back to me,” she concluded. “I’m coming back to me too. Three hundred and sixty five days…Happy new year’s eve, friends. stay safe.”

The past couple of years have been full of ups and downs for Ballerini. In August 2022, Ballerini revealed that she and Morgan Evans had called it quits after nearly five years of marriage. Months later, in November 2022, Us Weekly confirmed the pair had settled their divorce.

Following her divorce, Ballerini has been linked to Chase Stokes after shooting her shot in his Instagram DMs. The pair were first spotted together at the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles in January and have since been openly candid about their admiration for one another.

“[Kelsea] literally is the best person on planet earth,” the Outer Banks star, 31, gushed to Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. “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—king proud of her.”