Kelsea Ballerini Asks for People to ‘Let Us Be’ Following Split from Chase Stokes After Nearly 3 Years

The former couple first sparked dating rumors in January 2023 and broke up in September 2025

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Kelsea Ballerini asked people for privacy following her split from Chase Stokes
The country star shared a TikTok video asking people to “let us be”
Ballerini and Stokes first sparked dating rumors in January 2023 and broke up in September 2025

Kelsea Ballerini is asking for her privacy amid her split from Chase Stokes after nearly three years.

The country star shared a TikTok video soundtracked to Ariana Grande’s 2020 track “Shut Up” on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

In the clip, Ballerini, 32, appeared fresh-faced with her blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun, wearing a white muscle tee and sipping a Celsius beverage. She puts her hands on the sides of her face and shuts them and closes them seemingly in frustration, as she points at the camera when the pop star sings the words “shut up.”

“cc speculators, “sources,” and hidden cameras outside the hair salon. let us be. please. ❤️‍🩹,” the “Baggage” artist captioned the post, appearing to refer to paparazzi and media outlets publishing information about their breakup.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, Ballerini was spotted leaving House of Tone hair salon in Nashville. She was sporting a long-sleeve white shirt, denim overall shorts and Adidas Sambas as she carried a shopping bag.

One week prior, a rep for Ballerini confirmed to PEOPLE that the “Cowboys Cry Too” artist and the Outer Banks star, 33, went their separate ways after three years together.

Sources close to the couple told PEOPLE exclusively, “They’re two adults who gave it their all and tried to do everything they could to make it work, but ultimately couldn’t. It happens.”

The pair initially sparked dating rumors in January 2023 after Stokes shared a loved-up snap of them at the Georgia vs. TCU game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

After teasing their relationship in interviews, they went public with their relationship in April 2023 while walking the red carpet at the CMT Awards.

In September 2024, Stokes told PEOPLE that he kept his relationship with Ballerini going strong by “never going more than three weeks” without seeing her.

“If we need to make the effort to show up when one’s across the country, we do it,” the actor said at the time. “The amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives.”

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes in Los Angeles in May 2025.Kevin Mazur/Getty

While he noted that it’s not always “easy” or “convenient,” having “a big, beautiful life didn’t come from convenience or ease.”

Ballerini also opened up about their romance while discussing her album Patterns in an October 2024 interview for Women’s Health.

According to the “Two Things” performer, the record captured “the nuance” of falling in love with Stokes.

“It’s the in-between moments,” said Ballerini at the time. “How do we get to the happy-go-lucky, mushy-gushy phase? This is the process, but it took a lot of sorting through baggage together.”

She also said that the pair were “both really proud of that.”