Kelsea Ballerini is asking for privacy following her split from Chase Stokes after nearly three years together.
The country star shared a TikTok video on Tuesday, Sept. 23, asking people to stop speculating about her breakup.
In the clip, Ballerini appeared with her blonde hair pulled back in a bun, wearing a white muscle tee. She used Ariana Grande’s 2020 track “Shut Up” as the soundtrack while pointing at the camera when Grande 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, referring to paparazzi and news sources publishing information about their breakup.
On Sunday, Sept. 21, Ballerini was spotted leaving House of Tone hair salon in Nashville. She wore a white long-sleeve shirt, denim overall shorts and Adidas Sambas while carrying a shopping bag.
A representative for Ballerini confirmed to PEOPLE one week earlier that the “Cowboys Cry Too” artist and the Outer Banks star, both 32, had ended their relationship.
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.”
Timeline of Their Relationship
Ballerini and Stokes first sparked dating rumors in January 2023. Stokes shared a photo of them together at the Georgia vs. TCU game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
They went public with their relationship in April 2023 at the CMT Awards red carpet.
In September 2024, Stokes told PEOPLE he kept their relationship 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 amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives.”
The actor acknowledged it wasn’t always “easy” or “convenient,” but said having “a big, beautiful life didn’t come from convenience or ease.”
Ballerini discussed their romance in an October 2024 interview with Women’s Health while promoting her album Patterns.
The “Two Things” performer said the record captured “the nuance” of falling in love with Stokes.
“It’s the in-between moments. 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 said they were “both really proud of that” process at the time.
