Kelsea Ballerini says she and 'Outer Banks' star Chase Stokes began dating after she 'swan dove' into his DMs

• Kelsea Ballerini opened up about meeting her current boyfriend, "Outer Banks" star Chase Stokes.
• According to Ballerini, she slid into Stokes' DMs after they followed each other on Instagram.

Kelsea Ballerini revealed during a recent podcast appearance that she first met her current boyfriend, "Outer Banks" star Chase Stokes, after sliding into his Instagram DMs.

Ballerini was previously married to fellow country music singer Morgan Evans. After the couple separated last August, however, she was inspired to start dating, she told "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper on Wednesday.

"I was ready to open back up. I just felt, why not? I've never really dated; I don't know how it works," Ballerini said. "I'm like, 'Let's just put ourselves out there; let's just vibe.' And it's been fun."

Per Ballerini, she didn't want to use a dating app, so she decided to contact Stokes via social media after they both followed one another on Instagram.

"I've never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in," the "I Hate Love Songs" singer said.

Stokes' Instagram handle even helped Ballerini formulate her pickup line.

"His handle is '@hichasestokes,' and I said, 'Hi, Chase Stokes," Ballerini recalled to Cooper.

Ballerini and Evans were married for five years, but she filed for divorce last August. Stokes, for his part, was previously linked to "Outer Banks" star Madelyn Cline for over a year. Stokes and Cline later called it quits in December 2021.