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Kelsea Ballerini is reportedly not dating Southern Charm’s Craig Conover, despite recent rumors suggesting a new romance.
Ballerini, 32, and Conover, 37, are not in a relationship, unnamed “sources with direct knowledge” confirmed to TMZ in a report published Tuesday (April 14). The report notes that Ballerini bid on a date with Conover on Southern Charm in 2014.
“It haunts me forever,” Ballerini said when she explained the story while playing Cheap Shots with Cosmopolitan last year. “I don’t remember [how much I bid]. …I have to tell this story to clear this up. I was on radio tour and I was doing a show for the radio station on a boat, and they were filming Southern Charm on the boat, and I didn’t know that. And so, I was just there playing ‘Love Me Like You Mean It,’ being like, ‘hey, radio station, please play my song.’ And then little did I know, my label had set up the fact that I was going to bid on a date. I didn’t know. ...I get pushed into frame, bid it, got the date (and) they auctioned it off on the radio station for charity.
“No, [I never went on the date],” Ballerini clarified. “Some winner from the radio station got it.”
The vice president of video replied off-camera, “you’re probably better off.” Ballerini agreed, “yeah, everything is great as it turned out. But that does still replay often. They got reruns. Lots of ‘em. Sorry to this man.”
Though some have speculated on social media that Ballerini is now dating the Southern Charm star, they are apparently not an item. TMZ notes that representatives for Ballerini and Conover could not be reached for comment as of publication time.
Most recently, Ballerini dated Outer Banks star Chase Stokes. She’s since moved to New York City for a fresh chapter. The Tennessee-born artist shared at Carnegie Hall during last month’s An Evening with the Grand Ole Opry show, “I just moved here. Ever since I was a little kid and I got to come here for the first time I always promised myself that I would do a season or a chapter of life in the city and that season and chapter is right now. I don’t know how long that’s gonna last, but I’m really loving it.” She added, “you can take the girl out of Nashville, but you can’t take the Nashville out of the girl.”