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NEED TO KNOW
- Kelsea Ballerini celebrated her 32nd birthday on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025
- Stokes penned a special tribute to the country singer on Instagram in honor of her birthday
- She and Chase Stokes have been romantically linked since 2023
Chase Stokes is cherishing time with Kelsea Ballerini.
On Friday, Sept. 12, the Outer Banks star, 32, marked the country artist’s 32nd birthday with an Instagram tribute filled with photos from their time together.
The two first sparked dating rumors when Stokes posted a cuddly photo of them at the Georgia vs. TCU game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., in January 2023. That April, the pair made their relationship public when they walked their first red carpet together at the 2023 CMT Awards.
Jeff Kravitz/Getty
The Instagram carousel began with a photo of Stokes and Ballerini sitting courtside at a New York Knicks game in December 2024.
Next up was a selfie taken on a handheld camera by Ballerini showing her and Stokes laughing together. The third image was another selfie, this time taken by Stokes, of the two making silly faces.
Chase Stokes/instagram
An image of Ballerini in a jet followed, as well as a picture of the musician playing her guitar as Stokes stood to the side watching her in admiration.
Stokes dedicated the next slots in the Instagram carousel to solo shots of Ballerini, including one of the musician standing next to a sign that appeared to read “no rubbish to be left in this area,” and a shot of her using Easy Cheese.
Chase Stokes/instagram
A video included in the post also saw her asking why her utensils were so flat at a restaurant.
Other images saw the performer lying down on the floor next to her dogs and relaxing outdoors at night.
In PEOPLE’s September 2024 digital cover story, Stokes revealed that he and Ballerini have set up a relationship rule of “never going more than three weeks” without seeing each other.
Chase Stokes/instagram
“We don’t BS each other. If we need to make the effort to show up when one’s across the country, we do it,” Stokes told PEOPLE.
“The amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives,” he said. “It’s about really putting in effort, and it’s not always easy and it’s not always convenient, but having a big, beautiful life didn’t come from convenience or ease.”
