Chase Stokes Says Starring in Girlfriend Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘First Rodeo’ Video Was a ‘No Brainer’

Chase Stokes says it’s a “no brainer” when it comes to supporting his girlfriend Kelsea Ballerini.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at Giorgio Armani's Spring/Summer 2025 show in New York on Thursday, Oct. 17, the Uglies actor, 32, said he didn’t give starring in the country singer’s latest music video a second thought. 

Stokes tells the outlet that “little snippets” of him can be seen in the 31-year-old’s "First Rodeo" music video, which she premiered on Wednesday, Oct. 16, ahead of the upcoming release of her new album, Patterns — out on Oct. 25.

“It was like a really, really beautiful, vulnerable way of saying, like, ‘I wrote this song kind of about our story, and I don’t want to have anybody else do it. So will you?’ ” he recalled of his conversation with Ballerini about the role.

His initial thought: “Yeah, duh. What are you talking about?” 

“And she was like, ‘Oh! It was that easy?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, babe. Yes, exactly.’ So, it was a no brainer,” Stokes said, adding that it “was such a beautiful video.”

The couple first sparked dating rumors in January 2023 before making their red carpet debut together in April of that year at the CMT Awards.

During his conversation with ET, Stokes also cleared up a misconception about a deal the couple had when it came to Ballerini not watching his drama series Outer Banks.

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“She can watch whatever she wants,” the actor told the reporter. “It’s just more along the lines of it’s something that if she wants to watch it, she can. If she doesn’t want to watch it, like, it’s not gonna hurt my feelings.”

He continued, “I’m not like, ‘Watch my show! You need to watch my work!’ It’s less of a boundary, and more of just whatever you feel the most comfortable doing.”

Ballerini has shared on more than one occasion that she isn’t as caught up as some would think when it comes to her boyfriend’s hit series. 

In a Feb. 22 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the “Love Me Like You Mean It” singer told host Alex Cooper about how they met thanks to her sliding into his DMs.

"I've never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan dove right on in," the singer said. When Cooper, 30, asked Ballerini what she said to the star, she admitted that she kept things pretty simple: "His handle is '@hichasestokes,' and I said, 'Hi, Chase Stokes.' "