How Kelsea Ballerini’s New Album Was Inspired by Her Boyfriend’s Support

Kelsea Ballerini‘s fifth album, Patterns, is dropping on October 25. While her previous album, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, was inspired by her divorce, this new offering comes from a much happier place. She’s been in a relationship with actor Chase Stokes for the past two years, and Ballerini recently shared how that relationship inspired the new album.

“He’s been such a big, beautiful part of my life for almost two years now,” Ballerini told People earlier this month. She continued, “I’m really proud of the art that he’s inspired,” adding, “And I’m really proud to be with someone who’s a truth-teller in his own art too. And to be aligned in that way and to share parts of our relationship and that kind of stuff, so openly and willingly, is really beautiful.”

Stokes was on hand at the People’s Choice Country Awards recently, where Ballerini performed a number from her new album. The two were seen sitting together, and he showed his support for her during the emotional performance.

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Kelsea Ballerini Shares How Actor Boyfriend Supported Her During TV Debut

Kelsea Ballerini is not only releasing a fifth album soon, but she’s also making her acting debut on the new ABC medical drama Doctor Odyssey. She previously guest-starred on the show Nashville as herself in 2016, but this is the first time she’ll be guest-starring as a character. Her boyfriend is supportive of her branching out in her career as well, even if it means dipping her toes into his area of expertise. That’s what being a good partner is all about.

Ballerini previously shared that she came to Stokes with the opportunity and asked his opinion. “I’ve always called acting his world, and so whenever I was asking him questions about this opportunity, I was like, ‘What about this in your world?’” she said. “And he was like, ‘Hey, it’s just a world. I’m a part of it and now you’re a part of it. It’s not my world,’” she continued.

“By the end of the conversation, I was like, ‘Okay, so you’ll run the scene with me?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’” she said.

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