Kelsea Ballerini appeared on the Feb. 22 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast and opened up about the end of her 5 year marriage to Morgan Evans. Ballerini recalled first meeting Evans in March 2016 and that things moved fast, with Evans proposing in December of that same year after just nine months of dating. Ballerini said she swore she would never get married because of her parents’ “nasty” divorce, but the pair wed one year after their engagement in December 2017. Ballerini said things began falling apart when she felt Evans wasn’t prioritizing her, and “there was such a sense of disconnection” between them.

Ballerini noted that she and Evans had a “really beautiful conversation” about their divorce in August 2022, but they haven’t spoken again after their split. Said Kelsea: “I was just really honest. I just said, 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 And I really want to do this together and I really want to, like, honor the good that we’ve experienced by doing this the right way. It was beautiful. We cried. We hugged. It was sweet … And then something changed and … I haven’t talked to him since.” Ballerini admitted that when Evans released his song “Over For You” within weeks after that conversation, it made her “livid.” On Valentine’s Day 2023, Ballerini released her “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” EP, which chronicles her side of the break-up. Ballerini also said during the podcast interview that she was ready to date again, and confirmed that she is not single, saying she is having “fun” and “just vibing” with “Outer Banks” actor Chase Stokes.

Following Ballerini’s podcast interview, Evans posted a statement to Instagram saying: “It’s really sad for me to see this person, who I spent so much of my life with, and loved with all my heart, saying things that aren’t reality and that leave out what really happened. She knows I’m not the type of guy to speak on those things publicly If this is what she needs to heal, I hope it helps. All I ask is that if you’re 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.”

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