The annual CMT Music Awards have been a special place for Kelsea Ballerini and boyfriend for more than a year Foreign Banks star Chase Stokes. Just days after hosting the show again, the “I Quit Drinking” star said MI! News that their first big public outing was the 2023 edition of CMTs, “so it was kind of like a little circle and we lived a lot of life together that year.”
Most importantly, however, Ballerini, 30, was asked to pinpoint the moment she knew Stokes, 31, was 'the one' for her. “We're so happy and you know we both have big lives and we're both trying to juggle them and give each other our own space to thrive and grow,” she said and, when pressed for more details, added : “Straight up the Bronco.”
The latter was a reference to their first date in January 2023 in Los Angeles, the day after he would go out to perform at a party. “I had just finished playing and he said, 'I'm the valet,'” she told the She called her dad podcast in November. Worried their phone chemistry might not translate in person, Ballerini said the moment Stokes got out of his truck she was hooked. “He jumped out of his Bronco and didn't say a word to me,” she said. “And he grabbed my face and kissed me and pulled my face and said, 'Thank God you're real.'
Ballerini hosted the CMT Music Awards for the fourth time on Sunday night and at MI! Interview said her “final” moment as an MC was fun and relaxed. “I felt comfortable. It was the most present I felt. I had a good time. I threw up a little bit,” she said of her calm demeanor at the show dominated by Jelly Roll's three wins and the “Need a Favor” singer's first awards performance.
Ballerini and Stokes went public with their romance in February 2023 and have since walked many red carpets together and often chronicled their romance on social media. The singer gushed about how happy Stokes was on hand to support her on Sunday, noting that she caught a flight before the show ended to get back to work the next day. “It appears,” he said.
He also gave a glimpse into the couple's private life, which he said often consists of hanging out at home in Nashville or Charleston playing Yahtzee and hanging out with their dogs. Recalling that she filmed their first date together, Ballerini was asked to give some advice to other women on their first dates. “Honest? Go in knowing you've got you,” he said. “If it works, it's meant to, and if it doesn't, you've still got you. And I think that's the most important thing.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/kelsea-ballerini-knew-chase-stokes-the-one-1235653984/
