Kelsea Ballerini Confirms She and Boyfriend Chase Stokes Have Moved in Together: ‘We’re Unpacked, Baby’ (Exclusive)

Kelsea Ballerini and boyfriend Chase Stokes are getting serious.

In her new song “Baggage,” the country star, 31, teases a new milestone in her relationship.

“Man, I know the weight and gravity / of keychains with the same keys / But if you want that welcome mat / Then roll it with me / Clear out the drawer, clear out the shelf / I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else,” she sings. “I have luggage, but I’m moving in.”

So, are the country star and her Foreign banks handsome actor, 32, living in cohabitation these days?

“Oh, we unpacked, baby!” Ballerini — who began dating Stokes in January 2023 — tells PEOPLE.

“Baggage” — which the singer describes as “blissful acceptance” — is one of the standout songs from Ballerini’s excellent fifth album Formswhich she published on Friday, October 25.

Kelsea Ballerini gets real about ‘Entering My 30s’ on new album Forms: ‘I Used to Be a Big Ghoster’ (Exclusive)

Ballerini gets vulnerable on the album, opening up about moving on from her divorce — she ended her marriage to singer-songwriter Morgan Evans, 39, in August 2022 — and opening her heart to love again.

“I think going into this next chapter of my life — and you hear this on ‘First Rodeo’ — at first I felt very timid and like, ‘Oh my God, am I damaged goods?’ “, says Ballerini. “And then with ‘Luggage’, it’s a kind of juxtaposition: what I am, who I am, and this is what I bring to the table, and I will not apologize for the journey that got me here. I’m proud of my journey and take it or leave it, but I hope you accept it.”

Stokes — who appears in his girlfriend’s new music video for “First Rodeo” — supported Ballerini’s latest project on its release day.

“Humanity, authenticity, honesty and a s— ton of vulnerability,” Stokes wrote on his Instagram Stories. “KB, you are a once-in-a-lifetime human being. This record is more than a record. It’s the soundtrack of our human experience summed up in 15 songs. You’ve made something impossible, possible. Thank you for doing it World. Thank you for being let me in. Please listen to him…

Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini at the 2023 MTV VMAs in Newark, NJ

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Kelsea Ballerini Says ‘Patterns’ Is ‘Sorting Baggage’ With Chase Stokes: ‘We’re Both Very Proud Of It’

Forms followed by Ballerini’s 2023 EP Heart on Your Sleeve Roll out the welcome matwhich won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in February.

“I think that’s what happens when you turn 30 when you sort of evaluate your life,” says Ballerini, who adds that the album feels “bare.” “And I came in for a breath of air and I said, ‘Okay, well, let’s do a little inventory here. What do I love in my life right now? What is unpleasant? What did I contribute to both things? What are my samples? And then what do I want to do and edit on myself? And then in my closest, most interpersonal relationships, what do I want to arrange and challenge and also celebrate?’”

The “Miss Me More” singer — who will celebrate the release with a sold-out album launch concert at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 29 before embarking on her first headlining arena tour in January — revealed a lot about herself in the making Forms.

Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘Patterns’ album cover.

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“One thing I’ve realized about myself is that in any relationship in life … as soon as something seems scary, like it could go wrong, my habit and my unhealthy pattern is to just say, ‘Oh, I’m going to jump ship. so that I get hurt and they don’t,’ she says.

Ballerini adds, “I realized that it really wasn’t serving me, and sometimes the best thing that can happen to a friendship or a relationship or an opportunity to have difficult conversations and work through a moment of turmoil,” Ballerini adds. “When you come out the other side of it, there’s so much beauty in that, and there’s so much mutual respect and fighting for each other. And I think that, in my personal life, is something that I’m really proud of that I’ve finally tackled.”

Forms it’s out now.

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Source: HIS Education