Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
Kelsea Ballerini’s Ex-Husband Morgan Evans Is Also a Country Music Star: Inside Their Divorce
Kelsea Ballerini and her ex-husband, Morgan Evans, called it quits after five years of marriage. The “Roses” artist announced the pair’s split in an emotional statement on August 29, 2022, and she went on to find love again with actor Chase Stokes following their divorce.
Why Did Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans Split?
“Friends, I’ve always tried my best to share my life with you in a real and vulnerable way, while also protecting layers of my personal life as they unfold. This is now public record so I wanted you to hear from me directly that I am going through a divorce,” Kelsea wrote via Instagram Stories.
“This deeply difficult decision is the result of a journey of love, growth, and effort that ultimately has come to an end,” she continued. “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.”
According to court docs obtained by Life & Style, the former couple finalized their divorce on November 3, 2022.
Kelsea Ballerini Slammed Ex-Husband Morgan Evans Following Their Divorce
“I didn’t want to have a wedding. … I swore I would never get married,” Kelsea revealed during a February 2023 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. She told host Alex Cooper, “I think he loved me more at 23 and I love me more at 29.”
When asked if the divorce got “nasty,” the CMA winner replied, “Yeah, it did. As he’s putting out a song about being blindsided, he’s taking half the house that he didn’t pay for. How was I married to this person for this long and had no idea that that bit of character was tucked within that human being?”
When Did Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans Get Married?
The “Miss Me More” singer and “Day Drunk” artist tied the knot in December 2017 at a ceremony in Mexico.
Prior to their split, Kelsea and Morgan were regarded as one of the cutest couples in country music. In fact, while Kelsea recorded her self-titled album during quarantine for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Australian native supported her every step of the way.
“During this whole process, Morgan and I always kind of said we’re never gonna write together because, I don’t know, we just respect each other so much as songwriters,” Kelsea explained during an October 2020 interview with Us Weekly. “I was worried that I’d get in the room and be like, ‘Oh, it’s weird that I’m writing a love song about you, with you.’ Like I just thought I’d be so in my head about it.”
Eventually, the ACM Award winner pushed past her reservations. “But we ended up starting to write together the last few months and it’s been so much fun when we’re just itching to play music, we’ll both just pick up a guitar and start writing, so that’s definitely been a good silver lining,” she gushed at the time. “I’m sure down the road we’ll do more songs together. Right now, we’re both just trying to keep our music out [of it].”
Although Kelsea and Morgan had many great years together, she had previously expressed concerns over getting married. “I’ve always loved the idea of relationships and love and all that, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the marriage thing,” Kelsea told Access Hollywood in August 2020. “My parents got divorced so I was kind of always really aware of that. As soon as I met him, he was just careful with the way that I love. And I always felt very safe loving him.”
Do Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans Have Kids?
While together, Kelsea and Morgan didn’t have any children.
Kelsea Ballerini Began Dating Chase Stokes Following Her Divorce From Morgan Evans
Kelsea didn’t waste any time in moving on after the divorce. She appeared in an Instagram photo cuddling with actor Chase Stokes at the January 9, 2023, NCAA College Football Championship game in Los Angeles. The Outer Banks star shared the adorable snapshot of the pair four days later to his page with the caption, “Lil recap,” while tagging Kelsea in the photo.
Chase and Kelsea made their red carpet debut as a couple at the CMT Music Awards in April 2023. The couple support each other’s careers, as Chase revealed in September 2024 that the duo put down roots in Los Angeles after Kelsea became a coach on season 27 of NBC’s The Voice.
“That was kind of our thing: Let’s just set up shop versus being on planes,” Chase told People. “We wanted to set up a sense of real life out here for a little while. When you’re constantly bouncing around all the time, it’s hard to ground yourself. We’re just trying to find a new sense of normalcy.”
As of February 4, 2025, Kelsea and Chase’s romance was still going strong.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Life & Style does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.