Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes made their first public appearance as a couple at the New York Rangers game on Thursday night.
The country cutie, 29, and the Outer Banks actor, 30, were captured in the stands as they watched the home team take on the Ottawa Senators.
The duo – who recently confirmed their romance – looked smitten as they held hands and chatted throughout the game.
At one point, Ballerini leaned close to her new beau and they each put their hands on each other’s leg.
The sighting comes amid the singer’s divorce drama with ex-husband and fellow musician Morgan Evans, who she recently unfollowed on Instagram.
Debut: Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes made their first public appearance as a couple at the New York Rangers game Thursday night
Riveting: The country cutie, 29, and the Outer Banks actor, 30, were captured in the stands as they watched the home team take on the Ottawa Senators
Smitten: The duo – who recently confirmed their romance – looked smitten as they held hands and chatted throughout the game
Ballerini looked stunning in a split black and beige jacket, layered over a black turtleneck and black trousers.
Her long blonde hair was styled in loose waves and she kept her makeup light and natural.
The Heartfirst hitmaker put on an animated display featuring Stokes as they witnessed the showdown between the teams.
Stokes looked casual-cool in a yellow and black checked jacket worn over a baggy off-white T-shirt and gray skinny jeans.
The Netflix hunk’s dark brown hair came out from under a brown and yellow trucker cap that reads, “Art Dept Of Health Is Wealth Development”
He wore scruffy facial hair and accessories with chains for his date night with Ballerini.
After the game ended, the couple left their row and made their way to the exit with the rest of the audience.
Ballerini’s new romance comes seven months after she split from Morgan Evans.
Drama: The sighting comes amid the singer’s divorce drama with ex-husband and fellow musician Morgan Evans, who she recently unfollowed on Instagram
Close: At one point, Ballerini leaned close to her new beau and they each put their hands on each other’s leg
Stunning: Ballerini looked stunning in a split black and beige coat, layered over a black turtleneck and black pants. Her long blonde hair was styled in loose waves and she kept her makeup light and natural
Security: The duo were seemingly escorted to the game by a security guard
She started dating the Australian country singer in March 2016, and he popped the question on Christmas Day of that year and tied the knot in December 2017.
Ballerini both confirmed her romance with Stokes and opened up about her relationship with Evans, claiming she had slept on her couch “many a night.”
Evans fired back, claiming that what she said in the interview was untrue, while other allegations surfaced that Ballerini was cheating on Evans with The Chainsmokers’ Drew Taggart.
Ballerini appeared on the Call her daddy podcast last week, where she revealed she slept alone for the first time while married to Evans, ahead of the CMA Awards.
In the morning, after rehearsing for the event, she remembers texting him, “I’ll just see you on the carpet.”
She explained that she started sleeping on the couch because of a “feeling of disconnection” between them.
“We hadn’t seen each other, there was a lack of effort to see each other. I got mad, because every time we saw each other, I felt like I was carrying that burden, and I was tired,” the three-time Grammy nominee noted.
“Eventing a song about being blindsided, he’s taking half the house he didn’t pay for,” she added.
Casual-cool: Stokes sported a casual-cool figure in a yellow and black checked jacket worn over a baggy off-white tee and gray skinny jeans
Date night: He wore scruffy facial hair and accessories with chains for his date night with Ballerini
After the game, the duo left their line and headed for the nearest exit with the rest of the crowd
Star-studded: The game turned out to be a star-studded affair with the likes of Pitch Perfect’s Skylar Astin and actor Liam Neeson
Roaring Crowd: Annie Murphy stood up and cheered on the players with her game crew
Tense: Liam Neeson was seen having an impassioned phone conversation
He rocked a Denada Tequila hat and a velvet blazer
Fist punch: Liam was seen fist bumping his friends in the stands
“How did I have been married to this person for so long and had no idea that piece of character was hidden in that person?” she asked.
Evans released a song titled Over For You in October 2022 just before the divorce was finalized.
The lyrics in the song include “How long have you waited / To delete our pictures?” / How long have you been breaking? / Why did I just find out?’ and “What do you tell your parents?/What do you tell yourself?/Was it something I missed/Or is there someone else?”
The singer released her own EP called Rolling Up With The Welcome Mat on Valentine’s Day, featuring one track titled Blind sided.
Some of the lyrics in the tune also referenced their split: “Like that one time in 2019, before that big show, we had a big fight/I slept on the couch and the next night you put on your suit/I put on a smile and sang about how it’s okay to cry, to die inside.”
Just after the interview was released, Evans took to Instagram to release a short statement accusing her of lying in the interview.
“It is truly sad for me to see this person, who I have spent so much of my life with and loved with all my heart, say things that are not reality and that leave out what really happened,” she wrote. he.
All the love: Stokes shared a sweet photo with Ballerini on Instagram last week
Divorced: Ballerini’s new romance comes seven months after she split from Morgan Evans; seen in March 2022
Ballerini both confirmed her romance with Stokes and opened up about her relationship with Evans, claiming she had slept on her couch ‘many a night’
Singer-songwriter The Kiss Somebody added, “She knows I’m not the type of guy to talk about those things in public. If this is what she needs to heal, I hope it helps.”
“All I ask, if you are on my pages, please don’t be mean. Don’t be mean to Kelsea, don’t be mean to each other. Life’s too short,” Morgan concluded.
She also revealed during the interview that she had never seen Stokes’ show Outer Banks, but she just slipped into his DMs.
“I just dove into it. His handle is “@hichasestokes,” and I said, “Hi, Chase Stokes,” Ballerini admitted.
