Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes looked lucky in love during their individual Met Gala debuts.
The couple only had eyes for each other as they walked the red carpet in New York City on Monday, May 6. In honor of this year’s theme of “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” and the dress code being “The Garden of Time,” Ballerini, 31, stunned in a pink floral gown with see-through mesh, which took 3500 hours to bring to life. Stokes, 30, meanwhile, rocked a black sequin suit, which he wore with no shirt underneath.
Ahead of their big night out, Stokes teased his Michael Kors look, telling People on Monday, “We had our final fitting last night. We hung out with Michael for a little while.”
The Outer Banks star admitted he was “nervous” about making his debut. “It’s one of those events where you just gotta let the night take it and run with it. There’s just this inevitability to it. I’m staying open and trying to see where it’s going to go,” he said about making sure to have a “good vibe” going the whole night.
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Stokes also teased his and Ballerini’s decision to pull off “very individual” looks, which would still work together. “I think what we like to do is just complement versus coordinate,” he noted about the duo’s “f—king awesome” ensembles for fashion’s biggest night.
According to the actor, he found out he was on the Met Gala’s exclusive guest list while on a date with Ballerini.
“This is actually a crazy story. I had just flown from Morocco to Atlanta to do re-shoots for a movie with Netflix. It was a 26-hour travel day. I worked all day and then I had the next morning to do something,” he recalled. “I was on the way to the aquarium with my girlfriend and we got the call. I was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to the Met.’”
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Ballerini and Stokes are no strangers to leaving a memorable impression since their red carpet debut at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. The outing came one month after they took their relationship public with Ballerini discussing how their romance began.
“His handle is ‘hichasestokes’ and I just said, ‘Hi Chase Stokes,’” Ballerini shared during an appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in February 2023. “I have my s–t together and for me to share that with anyone is a gift. I want to be with someone that feels the same way about their life. … I’m a relationship bitch.”
As Ballerini and Stokes’ romance continued to heat up, a source told Us Weekly that they were getting “serious.”
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“They work so well because they have fun together,” the insider exclusively told Us in July 2023. “They have a no-drama relationship and can just be themselves.”
That same month, Ballerini discussed their decision to forego privacy when it comes to their relationship.
“The thing that we’ve decided, and to each their own, is when you’re with someone that you feel secure with and that you’re proud to be with, why not share it?” she told StyleCaster. “He’s also a Virgo; we’re both Labrador Retrievers in human form. It doesn’t take much conversation to be on the same page. It’s been half a year and it’s been great.”
