Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Dating Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes Share a Kiss at New York Rangers Game in N.Y.C. The country musician and the Outer Banks actor began dating in December 2022 By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 3, 2023 08:28AM EST Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes. Photo: Lauren Menowitiz/Shutterstock Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes are making their love public. The country musician, 29, and the Outer Banks actor, 30, attended the New York Rangers game against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thursday night, where they were captured sharing a kiss while in their seats during the sporting event. During the date night, which marked their first public outing as a couple, Ballerini kept it casually cool in an all-black ensemble made up of a jacket and pants. Stokes, meanwhile, opted for a brighter color palette, wearing a yellow-and-black jacket over a white T-shirt, which he accessorized with a pearl necklace and brown hat. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes. Lauren Menowitiz/Shutterstock Ballerini and Stokes began dating in December 2022, the Rolling Up the Welcome Mat artist revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast last month. She was previously married to fellow country star Morgan Evans, though she filed for divorce from him in August 2022 after nearly five years of marriage. Their split was finalized that November. Ballerini also revealed on the podcast episode that she slid into Stokes' DMs after the two began following each other on Instagram. "I've never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in," she said, referring to Outer Banks. When host Alex Cooper asked her what she said to the actor, the "Yeah Boy" singer shared that she kept it simple: "His handle is '@hichasestokes,' and I said, 'Hi, Chase Stokes.' " RELATED VIDEO: Kelsea Ballerini Says Ex Morgan Evans Gave Her Choice of Giving Up Half the House or Paying Alimony Stokes spoke to PEOPLE for a recent issue featuring Outer Banks season 3, which is currently streaming on Netflix, and said he and Ballerini "have just been spending some time together." He added, "Kelsea is a lovely, lovely girl. She's great. We're having a good time." A source recently told PEOPLE that despite her divorce from Evans, 37, being "awful for her" and she was "very upset about it," Ballerini is now in a "much better place." "She is dating, but doesn't feel any pressure to be serious [with someone]," the insider added of the star, who will appear as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live over the weekend. Close