Kelsea Ballerini Shares How Boyfriend Chase Stokes Supported Her in Acting Debut onDoctor Odyssey(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini attend the premiere for ABC’s ‘Doctor Odyssey’ at Bel-Air Bay Club on September 18, 2024 in Pacific Palisades, California.Photo:Emma McIntyre/Getty

Emma McIntyre/Getty

Kelsea Balleriniwas in good hands as she made her acting debut onDoctor Odyssey.

The country singer, 31, appears briefly inJoshua Jackson’s new medical drama, and she tells PEOPLE that she “definitely was nervous” ahead of the role. Fortunately, her boyfriendChase Stokeswas readily available to ease her nerves.

“I’ve always called acting his world, and so whenever I was asking him questions about this opportunity, I was like, ‘What about this in your world?’ And he was like, ‘Hey, it’s just a world. I’m a part of it and now you’re a part of it. It’s not my world,'” she says at theDoctor OdysseyL.A. premiere on Sept. 18.

Stokes, 30, was not only able to ease her mind, but he even helped her prep her lines. “By the end of the conversation, I was like, ‘Okay, so you’ll run the scene with me?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,'” she said.

The ABC medical drama marks Ballerini’s “first time ever trying the acting hat on,” so she was admittedly “timid,” but she says “the cast was so warm and welcoming.”

“I wasn’t reserved on the fact that it was my first time. So I asked a lot of questions and I feel like I learned so much, and I really hope that I did the character and the show proud.”

Kelsea Ballerini in ‘Doctor Odyssey’ trailer.ABC/YouTube

ABC/YouTube

While the role allowed her to take a closer look into what she calls Stokes’ “world,” fans shouldn’t expect the couple to star onscreen together anytime soon.

Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini attend the premiere for ABC’s ‘Doctor Odyssey’ at Bel-Air Bay Club.Emma McIntyre/Getty

Stokes’ staunch support of Ballerini comes as no surprise. The couple — who began dating afterBallerini slid into theOuter Banksstar’s DMsin December 2022 —have a rule about “never going more than three weeks” without seeing each other, Stokes told PEOPLE for his September digital cover story.

“We don’t BS each other. If we need to make the effort to show up when one’s across the country, we do it,” he said.

“The amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives,” he added. “It’s about really putting in effort, and it’s not always easy and it’s not always convenient, but having a big, beautiful life didn’t come from convenience or ease.”

Phillipa Soo, Joshua Jackson and Sean Teale in ‘Doctor Odyssey’.Disney/Tina Thorpe

Disney/Tina Thorpe

Ballerini is not the only big-name guest star slated to appear onDoctor Odysseyalongside cast members Jackson (who plays the luxury cruise ship’s doctor Max),Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale andDon Johnson.

John Stamos,Gina Gershon,Cheyenne JacksonandChord Overstreetwill also appear as guest stars throughout the first season.

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Doctor Odysseypremieres Thursday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

source: people.com