Kelsea Ballerini does not want to become 'the poster child for divorce' after very public split from Morgan Evans
Kelsea Ballerini has talked divorce in her new interview.
The 31-year-old hitmaker opened up to Elle about ending her marriage to Morgan Evans in 2022.
'I don't ever want to be a poster child for divorce,' said the pinup. 'It's been three years now. It's simply not in the forefront of my life anymore.
'But I always make sure when these women come up to me, my first reaction is never, "Oh my God, congratulations!" It's like, '"Are you okay?" Because just like it needs to be destigmatized, I also don't think it should be celebrated or glamorized.'
While on tour, Ballerini shut down a show in Hollywood, Florida after fans were screaming obscenities about her ex.
'Seriously, we're three years past it, everything's fine now,' she told the crowd. 'I sing the song for you now, it's not about me anymore, please.'
She also said she is much happier these days.
The iHeart Radio award winner has found new love with Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes and says her personal life is 'unrecognizable from how it was a couple of years ago, and thank God.'
The result of those feelings from her divorce to Evans fueled her six-song EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.
'I remember being like, "Oh man, I'm terrified." I went to sleep, and the next morning, I was like, "Oh, it's okay. People are finding this and connecting with this."
'But it was definitely a scary feeling,' she said of the risk.
Many of her fans were going through something similar and the songs resonated with them.
Several of those attending her concerts will hold up a sign reading, 'Just got a divorce,' but Ballerini is cautious about her approach to the information.
When it came time to write the music for Patterns, her fifth album, Ballerini turned to an all-female team as co-writers.
'The truth is, I was so frozen after Welcome Mat, because the intention behind that was not to be a commercial success in any capacity.
'It was literally just this six-song collection that I made quietly with one other person, Alysa [Vanderheym], to the point where it didn't even count toward my record contract. And then it connected like it did,' she explained.
Ballerini released her six-song EP Rolling Up The Welcome Mat following her 2022 divorce from fellow country star Morgan Evans. She was 'terrified' to release it, but the songs resonated with fans
When it came time for her to make what she called a 'proper album,' she turned to Vanderheym again and invited Hillary Lindsey, Karen Fairchild and Jessie Jo Dillon to join her on the adventure.
'I didn't know where to start, because I felt this pressure to follow it up and do it well.
'I had to really dissect what made that work and then ask, "How do I translate that to my life now?"'
'I knew that if I was going to start writing, I needed to do it with people I felt safe with.
'And so I called my friends, who are some of the most in-demand songwriters in music, but they're also just my friends.'
'I was like, "Hey, can we go away somewhere really cozy and cute for two days? I will supply so much wine, and can we just see if there's anything? And if there isn't, it'll still be two days of womanhood." If that's the worst-case scenario, we're doing all right.'
As a result of those cozy moments, The Voice coach and her team ended up writing the songs Sorry Mom, Two Things, and Baggage. 'And I was just like, "There it is." I felt this immense relief and release, but also a sense of freedom that I had never really felt before. I keep saying it wasn't just a co-write, it was walking life for a year with each other.'
The release of Patterns helped the singer/songwriter achieve one of her long term goals. 'It's always been my goal to be a woman who headlines arenas. Especially in country music, you don't see it a lot. I think that I, and my whole team collectively, had this "If not now, when?" mentality.'
To do so, Ballerini said she had to shift her mindset.
'I had to get out of my head, because I'm such a chronic people pleaser: Any element of turmoil or people being mad at me feels crippling to me. And so I never really was loud about anything for a really long time, because I just had to get my footing. And then I was like, 'At the end of the day, I want the people who listen to my music to know what I stand for and hopefully align with it."
The emboldened artist is also speaking out about broadening the Country Music tent and making the genre more welcoming for all. 'We had a (drag) queen in the audience in Philly, and I felt so deeply grateful that they felt safe enough to be there in the theater in the wig, the thoughtful artist said.
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter won the Grammy for Album of the Year, but was snubbed by the Academy of Country Music Awards. Lana del Rey and Zayn Malik have also tried their hand at the genre.
'If we, as country artists, feel like we can have a collab on top 40 or have a collab with an R&B artist, why wouldn't we give a welcome to someone else?' Ballerini asks.
'I think that's where people who are pushing back really need to check themselves, because music is for everybody. And specifically country music, the marquee of it is it's the people's story,' she declared.
As for her dream collaborator, the Love is a Cowboy singer already has someone in mind, admitting she would 'die' to work with SZA.
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