Kelsea Ballerini Opened Up About Split From Morgan Evans: ‘Who You Marry Is Not Who You Divorce’
Country singers Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans shocked fans when they announced their split in 2022. The former couple has since opened up about their divorce, and Ballerini spoke candidly about it in a recent interview.
The 2 country artists were married for 5 years
Ballerini and Evans began dating in 2016. They got engaged after several months of courtship and tied the knot in December 2017.
However, in August 2022, Ballerini announced on Instagram that she and Evans were ending their celebrity relationship.
“This deeply difficult decision is the result of a journey of love, growth, and effort that ultimately has come to an end,” she said. “It’s hard to find the words here … but I feel extremely grateful for the years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the next seasons. With very active schedules coming up, please be mindful that we are both fragile, actively healing, and showing up the best we can.”
A source revealed to Us Weekly that Ballerini and Evans’ marriage experienced many ups and downs. “Kelsea was very young and naive when she met Morgan. They clicked right away, but their relationship was always an emotional roller coaster.”
The insider added that the couple couldn’t agree on having kids, with the 29-year-old Ballerini “not ready” to have children yet.
“Morgan [had] been ready for a long time,” the source said of the 37-year-old singer-songwriter. “They had been having issues relating to each other and trouble being kind to each other, but the disagreement over kids was the nail in the coffin.”
On Feb. 14, 2023, Ballerini released an EP and a short film about their divorce titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.
Kelsea Ballerini recently opened up about her divorce from Morgan Evans
Ballerini recently spoke candidly about her divorce in an episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. The singer revealed she gave her house to Evans to get out of the marriage.
“Who you marry is not who you divorce,” Ballerini shared. “As he’s putting out a song about being blindsided, he’s taking half the house that he didn’t pay for.”
According to Ballerini, she and Evans had a prenup, but it essentially stated that her choices were to give him “[the house] or alimony.”
“I was like, ‘Give him the house. I want out,’” Ballerini recalled.
She also shared that the issue of having kids was ultimately the final straw for her and Evans.
“The moment I think it was over was, I was realizing I’m not ready for kids. And that’s a fundamental difference,” she explained. “I don’t know if I want kids at all or not, but that was something we had talked about early on, and that was something that I was changing on, you know, because he was ready. He was like, ‘I don’t want to be an old dad,’ is what he kept saying. And I was like, ‘I’m just not there yet.’ I can’t do that to save this.”
Ballerini also revealed what happened when she told him of her desire to end the marriage: “I was just really honest. I was like, ‘I’ve loved what this has brought in my life, and I respect you and I respect me, and because of that, I can no longer be in this marriage.’ We cried; we hugged. It was sweet,” she shared. “And then something changed, and I haven’t talked to him since.”
Who is Kelsea Ballerini dating now?
Ballerini has since moved on from Evans. She is dating Outer Banks star Chase Stokes.
Ballerini revealed that she and the actor connected after she reached out to him on social media. The country star said on Call Her Daddy, “His handle is ‘hichasestokes,’ and I just said, ‘Hi, Chase Stokes.’”
