Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans. River/MEGA; Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Country songstress Kelsea Ballerini is feeling her heavy emotions as she navigates her ongoing divorce from estranged husband Morgan Evans.
“A complex time,” the “Peter Pan” musician, 28, captioned a Saturday, September 3, TikTok video. In the clip, Ballerini somberly sat in her bathtub while a demo of Katie Gregson-MacLeod’s “Complex” played in the background.
While Ballerini did not further elaborate on her connection to the social media sound, the lyrics hint at an emotional breakup. “I’m wearing his boxers / I’m being a good wife. We won’t be together / But maybe the next life,” the 19-year-old Scottish artist sang in her debut single. “I’m being a cool girl / I’m keeping it so tight. I carry him home while my friends have a good night. I need him like water, he thinks that I’m alright.”
She added in the track: “I’m not feeling human / I think he’s a good guy.”
The Tennessee native, for her part, sat naked in the bathtub while listening to the lyrics. Her eye makeup was visibly smudged, seemingly revealing that Ballerini had been crying.
@kelseaballerini a complex time.
♬ complex (demo) – Katie Gregson-MacLeod
The country singer can relate to Gregson-MacLeod’s emotional lyrics about a difficult breakup as she and Evans, 37, announced earlier this year that they had separated after nearly five years of marriage.
“Friends, I’ve always tried my best to share my life with you in a real and vulnerable way, while also protecting layers of my personal life as they unfold,” the “Hole in the Bottle” songstress wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, August 29. “This is now public record so I wanted you to hear from me directly that I am going through a divorce.”
Ballerini continued at the time: “This deeply difficult decision is the result of a journey of love, growth, and effort that ultimately has come to an end. It’s hard to find the words here … but I feel extremely grateful for the years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the next seasons. With very active schedules coming up, please be mindful that we are both fragile, actively healing, and showing up the best we can.”
Us Weekly confirmed that Ballerini had filed for divorce from the Australia native the previous Friday and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the cause for their split.
Evans, for his part, broke his silence several hours later, seemingly hinting it was not a mutual decision.
Morgan Evans and Kelsea Ballerini at the 55th annual CMA Awards in Nashville on November 10, 2021. Ed Rode/AP/Shutterstock
“I am very sad to confirm that after almost 5 years of marriage, Kelsea and I are parting ways,” the “Day Drunk” singer wrote on Monday. “I wish it were otherwise but sadly it is not.”
Ballerini and Evans — who wed in December 2017 — had been struggling to maintain their relationship for several years before the August divorce filing.
“They’ve been working on their marriage for many years and have even tried therapy,” a source exclusively told Us last month, noting that the pair had “privately separated” at one point before reconciling. “They ultimately decided that they had no choice but to officially separate.”
Following their split, both Ballerini and Evans have been focused on their careers and their forthcoming fall concert tours. [The “Heartfirst” singer is also gearing up to release her next album, Subject to Change, later this month. Her first single — titled “What I Have” — dropped on Friday, September 2.
“This song was written somewhere in between reflection and eagerness,” Ballerini tweeted on Friday. “Although ever changing, I’m happy with what I have.”
In “What I Have,” she croons about being “happy with what I have” in life, including a “dream” career, a Jeep vehicle and a faithful pup.