Madelyn Cline & Kelsea Ballerini Laugh Off Feud Rumors In New Pic

It looks like there aren’t any issues in Emerald City anymore. About three months after Kelsea Ballerini released a song that many interpreted to be about Madelyn Cline, the two women had a surprise reunion to prove to everyone there’s no beef. A picture is worth a thousand song lyrics, right?

Ballerini and Cline had been pitted against one another for years, all because they both had romances with Chase Stokes. Cline and Stokes dated from 2020 to 2021 while playing love interests on Outer Banks. Despite breaking up IRL, their characters on the show are still in a relationship. But outside of the series, Stokes has been in a roller-coaster relationship with Ballerini since 2023. The couple has been infamously on and off in recent months, but they currently are still together.

During one of Ballerini and Stokes’ latest rough patches, Cline got pulled into the drama thanks to Ballerini’s song “Emerald City,” in which the country star describes a partner’s ex-girlfriend who still consumes her with jealousy.

The pointed lyrics immediately caused listeners to assume Ballerini was singing about Cline, but even if she was, the two women seem to be in a good place now. The morning after the 2026 Grammys, Cline posted a photo of herself and Ballerini covering their faces and laughing together.

Although he isn’t in the photo, it’s likely that Stokes was part of this hangout as well. Ballerini mentioned on the Grammys red carpet that she would be seeing her boyfriend after the ceremony ended. “He was with me getting ready today and he’ll be with me when we wrap,” Ballerini said to Entertainment Tonight.

The singer also reflected on her chaotic last few months, assuring that it was not as “dramatic” as it may have seemed to her followers: “I feel like outwardly, it looked a lot more dramatic than it was. And that was quite the learning lesson for us.”

There’s nothing like awards season to bring celebrities together.