Chase Stokes can’t seem to contain his excitement whenever he talks about his love, Kelsea Ballerini.
PEOPLE had the opportunity to speak with the 31-year-old actor from Outer Banks about the 30-year-old singer from “Love Me Like You Mean It” on the red carpet of the 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City on Monday.
Stokes told up about the experience of not only seeing the native of Mascot, Tennessee play in her hometown for the Heartfirst Tour, but also headlining the concert.
“Because of the volume level, I’m still working on getting my hearing back… It was the best thing ever for her to go back to her hometown and to sell out an arena, like that stage. I sobbed the whole time,” he admits to PEOPLE after the event.
After that, Stokes spoke on how meaningful it was for her family to see her achieving her goals in front of them.
“Her mom was there, and her sister was there; her entire family was there,” he adds. “It’s a magical moment when you see somebody who at 12 years old wanted to have this dream and then to go back to her hometown and do exactly what she set out to do — I mean there’s no way to be more proud.”
In honor of the important event, Stokes wore a charcoal gray two-piece suit while walking the red carpet.
When asked how the country singer Kelsea Ballerini has affected the star of Tell Me Your Secrets’ style, the Tell Me Your Secrets star responds, “She’s given me a little yee-haw.” “I’m not going to lie, I was raised in the South, and she has most certainly brought out that side of me,” I said.
After making their red carpet debut together in April at the CMT Music Awards, Stokes said that he likes traveling with Ballerini. The two made their debut together on the red carpet.
“It’s been fun, and being able to do events together, get dressed up for stuff — it’s been a blast,” he tells PEOPLE, adding that they have equally played a role in “influencing each other” when when it comes to their style.
Because of the closeness that now exists between them, the two have begun to “unintentionally” synchronize their wardrobes.
“Everybody thought the VMAs was coordinated but that was a look that I was gonna wear for something else, and then I missed my flight so I couldn’t wear that,” Stokes told PEOPLE, adding that it was “kinda cool” that her wardrobe ended up matching his jacket. “Everybody thought the VMAs was coordinated but that was a look that I was gonna wear for something else,” she said.
According to the actor from Between Waves, the coincidence between the two is “sort of serendipitous.”
During the summer, when Stokes was shooting the most recent season of Outer Banks in Charleston, South Carolina, he took some time out of his schedule to surprise Ballerini in Seattle.
Stokes was there to greet the “Miss Me More” singer as soon as she stepped off the aircraft and was waiting for her on the runway next to a black vehicle.
After Stokes uploaded a cute selfie of the two of them together during the Georgia vs. TCU game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in January, dating speculations began to circulate about the two individuals for the first time.