Kelsea Ballerini seemingly shades Morgan Evans during SNL performing debut

Kelsea Ballerini is telling her side of the story. Ballerini delivered an emotional performance of two songs inspired by her split from Morgan Evans and updated her lyrics to subtly shade him during her Saturday Night Live performance last night.

Ballerini sang ‘Blindsided’ and ‘Penthouse’ during her SNL debut, which addressed her divorce from Evans. Soon after, fans were quick to point out that ‘Blindsided’ had an unexpected addition to the outro.

“Now you’re singing out loud on the radio. But you’re the only heart that breaks,” she sang. “You would’ve searched the whole world over. Yeah, sure. OK.”

The country singer’s SNL appearance comes after she recently opened up about the end of her marriage in her EP ‘Rolling Up the Welcome Mat’ and its accompanying short film. Evans has also used his music to share his side of the story.

In September 2022, Evan’s performed a new song titled ‘Over for You’ at the CMC Rocks QLD Festival. The studio recording of the song based on their past relationship was released around a month later.

Ballerini and Evan’s relationship

Ballerini and Evans started dating in March 2016 and were engaged on Christmas day of that year. The couple was married almost a year later in December 2017.

However, just under five years later, Ballerini announced that the couple would be divorcing. The ‘Half of My Hometown’ singer addressed the split with an Instagram story.

“Friends, I’ve always tried my best to share my life with you in a real and vulnerable way, while also protecting layers of my personal life as they unfold. This is now public record so I wanted you to hear from me directly that I am going through a divorce,” she wrote.

“This deeply difficult decision is the result of a journey of love, growth, and effort that ultimately has come to an end. It’s hard to find the words here...but I feel extremely grateful for the years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the next seasons,” Ballerini continued.

Evans also added his own statement, writing: “I am very sad to confirm that after almost five years of marriage, Kelsea and I are parting ways. I wish it were otherwise but sadly it is not.”

New romance

Since the split, Ballerini has made multiple public appearances with actor Chase Stokes, leading to rumors of the two dating. Just before Ballerini’s performance, she and Stokes were spotted walking through Manhattan together, holding hands and kissing.

Just two days earlier, Stokes appeared on ‘The Today Show’ to discuss his role in the third season of ‘Outer Banks.’ During the interview, Stokes also officially confirmed he and Ballerini are dating.