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Kelsea Ballerini is embracing single life in New York City and prioritizing self-discovery after her split from Chase Stokes
The country star recently completed an intensive three-day therapy session to better understand herself and her people-pleasing tendencies
Ballerini and Stokes ended their on-off relationship in February after struggling to merge their lives despite mutual love
Now that she’s single, Kelsea Ballerini is getting to know herself again.
The 32-year-old country superstar ended her on-off romance with actor Chase Stokes for good back in February, PEOPLE confirmed, and has since moved to New York City to celebrate this next single stage of her life.
“I’m loving this chapter of life just because I really feel like I’m being really intentional about connecting to myself,” she shared on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle on Friday, April 17. “Also, being off the road right now. This is my first time not touring in a while and being somewhere new and making new friends. I just haven’t had the time to invest in myself like that for a while.”
Part of reconnecting with herself includes doing some intensive therapy work.
“I just did a three-day intensive in Dallas, like, nine hours of therapy every day,” she shared.
As for what she learned after the extended therapy, the “Cowboys Cry Too” singer noted, “It’s just, again, a better understanding of myself and why I am a people pleaser. I’m learning that about myself. I think in this chapter of my life, again, I’m kind of like, ‘You know what, I don’t want to give anyone else the power to tell me how I should feel about myself or my choices or the life that I choose to lead.’ “
Kelsea Ballerini on Instagram
Credit: Kelsea Ballerini/Instagram
Ballerini’s focus on herself comes after the Grammy-nominated star split from the Outer Banks actor just five weeks after announcing their reconciliation.
Back in February, multiple sources confirmed to PEOPLE that the country superstar was no longer dating Stokes, 33. The couple first sparked dating rumors in January 2023 and went public with their romance at the April 2023 CMT Awards. In October 2024, the singer confirmed to PEOPLE the couple had moved in together.
Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini attend Netflix Tudum in May 2025.
Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
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After nearly three years of dating, PEOPLE confirmed last September that the pair had split.
Kelsea Ballerini on Instagram
Credit: Kelsea Ballerini/Instagram
Ballerini later traveled to meet Stokes on location while filming Outer Banks in Europe, where they rekindled their relationship before things appeared to flame out amid a series of cryptic social media posts from Stokes in late November.
“They still love each other, which is why they’ve kept trying to make it work,” a source previously told PEOPLE. “But their lives are in very different places right now. Figuring out where to live and how to truly merge their lives has been hard lately. It’s been something they’ve gone back and forth on.”
The source added, “They just want to be happy though. They’ve been trying to figure out a situation where they are both happy together, but that doesn’t seem possible at the moment.”
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