Feud erupts between Kelsea Ballerini's exes as Morgan Evans mocks Chase Stokes over attack on 'masculinity'

Kelsea Ballerini's exes appear to be going all in on their online feud following her ex-boyfriend's sniping comments about her ex-husband.

After the 32-year-old country songstress's ex-boyfriend Chase Stokes, 33, derided her ex-husband Morgan Evans's 'masculinity' in a recent Instagram comment, Evans returned with a humorous post flaunting showing off his ripped muscles as he took care of manual labor outdoors.

The 40-year-old Australian country singer posted a hilarious set of photos of himself lifting a mini fridge over his head and chopping wood this week in response to the attack on his manhood.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Evans, Stokes and Ballerini to request comment. 

Evans seemed to get the last laugh with his recent post, as he not only poked fun at Ballerini's ex-boyfriend, but he also managed to turn the post into album promotion by placing a vinyl copy of his upcoming LP in his several of his photos. 

'Feeling pretty masculine today,' Evans wrote, alluding to Stokes's incensed comment. 'Album out in 2 weeks!'

In one post, he highlighted his ripped biceps and trim figure while humorously holding a mini fridge over his head and staring determinedly into the distance.

Evans tried to paint himself as a comically stereotypical manly man as he proceeded to chop wood.

He shared a short video of himself splitting a small log outdoors, but as soon as Evans brought his ax down, the person recording the video let a tiny brown dog loose that playfully chased him up a hill.

Evans also included a photo of himself pointing at the engine of a black Toyota pickup truck with its hood open.

In most of the photos, he included a vinyl copy of his upcoming album Steel Town, which will be released on March 20.

Evans conspicuously placed a copy on top of his log pile and then rested it against an upturned log, and he also leaned it against the open hood of the truck's exposed engine.

Bobby Bones, whose interview with Evans had elicited Stokes's original masculinity-bashing response, commented, 'I laughed.'

Stokes, who starred on Outer Banks, appeared to set off the feud when he called Evans 'pathetic' in response to the musician's interview on Bobby Bones' The BobbyCast podcast last week.

'This is about the most pathetic excuse of masculinity ive ever seen. Get a f***ing life,' Stokes wrote in a since-deleted comment on Instagram. 

During the interview, Evans said he was 'not expecting that conversation' when Ballerini told him she wanted a divorce in 2022.

'I definitely wasn't [expecting it], and it took me by surprise,' Evans told Bones, 45.

'But yeah, that whole time is such a blur. It almost feels like somebody else, just from where I'm sitting now. I just look back and I’m like, "Oh my God." … Yeah, it was just kind of a whirlwind, life-changing moment.' 

Elsewhere, Evans argued that the narrative surrounding his divorce from Ballerini portrayed him unfairly.

'In my case, it didn't feel like it necessarily had a lot to do with me,' Evans said. 

'I think maybe I was presented, or made out to be, or became an archetype for any guy that had done any woman wrong during that period of time. Like, some of the stuff was just like… "what? What are you even talking about?"'

'It doesn't not hurt…especially if it was real vicious or something,' he added.

'And then I'd click on whoever said it and just have a look and just be like, "Oh, yeah, it's OK. That looks like somebody going through a tough time."'

BobbyCast host Bones responded to Stokes' remark in an Instagram video, stating, 'If you’re going to come that hard, maybe don’t take it down.'

He said he had 'nothing against' Stokes but suggested that the 'people who project onto other people' might be 'way less masculine and maybe insecure in their own masculinity.'

'This masculinity thing was just weird. Why would you challenge someone’s masculinity?' he questioned. 

'By the way Morgan Evans is like 6'2 and freaking strapped,' he added. 

Bones defended Evans for discussing his divorce, stating that it inspired the singer's third studio album Steel Town, which is set to come out on March 20.

'It was just, he's going to speak about [the divorce] once and never again, so we did that. I thought he came off really well. I thought he was very kind in his version of events. There's three stories, right? There's his story, her story and the real story.'

After her divorce from Evans — whom she wed in 2017 — Ballerini dated Stokes on and off for three years. 

In February, the couple split for a third time, just one month after reconciling, according to Us Weekly, with a source stating that Stokes 'still [wasn't] ready to give up,' while Ballerini was 'done.'

Initially, it seemed that Ballerini and Stokes had weathered the storm of their breakup in September. After all, just three months after splitting, it was reported that they decided to revive their romance.

But things came crashing down 'around the New Year,' a source told the Daily Mail, as Stokes's 'continued jealousy' and their conflicting goals drove a wedge between them.

Meanwhile, Evans is currently dating singer Laci Kaye Booth, 30. 

Evans previously alluded he was surprised by Ballerini's divorce request in his 2022 song Over for You.

'How long have you been waiting / To take our pictures down? / How long have you been breaking? Why am I just finding out?' he sang in the first verse.

In the chorus he goes on to sing: 'How many times did you say you loved me / When it wasn't true? / I'm just wondering / How long has it been over for you?'

Ballerini then responded with her own song, Blindsided (Yeah, Sure, Okay).

The song detailed her failed marriage, with lyrics like: 'I told you what I needed, didn't have to read my mind / So, were you blindsided or were you just blind?'

Ballerini continued with the poignant lyrics, 'Years of sitting across from me in therapy / I know the truth is hard to hear, but it wasn't hard to find / Baby, were you blindsided or were you just blind?'

The two began dating in 2016, and tied the knot one year later in 2017 during a romantic ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. However, in August 2022, the singers announced that they were divorcing after nearly five years of marriage.