Chase Stokes is debuting his new ink just weeks after his split from Kelsea Ballerini.
The Outer Banks star, 33, showed off a new tattoo with a cryptic message via an Instagram post shared by tattoo artist, Winter Stone, on Thursday, March 12.
A video panned across the actor’s shoulders to showcase the script, which read, “They will judge us by our fruit.”
Followers pointed out in the comments that the phrase appears to be taken from the Bible, specifically, Matthew 7:16. In this passage, Jesus Christ warned his disciples about people’s actions rather than their words.
Last month, Stokes and his ex, Ballerini, 32, called it quits for the third time in their on-again, off-again relationship.
“Kelsea and Chase have broken up again. It happened just the other day,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in February.
The insider noted that Stokes “still isn’t ready to give up” on their relationship. For her part, Ballerini is officially “done” but is “taking it better” than their previous breakups, according to the source.
Romance rumors about Ballerini and Stokes first started in January 2023 when they were spotted at the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles. They pulled the plug on their relationship for the first time in September 2025.
They decided to reconnect two months later, and multiple sources exclusively confirmed to Us in November 2025 they were giving it another shot.
However, within weeks Stokes and Ballerini went their separate ways again.
In December 2025, Ballerini and Stokes revealed they had reunited again via similar New Year’s Eve Instagram posts.
“Messy year for the heart, messy year for the outside coming in, messy year for the way it became an out of our hands portrayal of it,” Ballerini wrote via her Instagram Story on December 31, 2025. “But what I’ll say, and all I really care to share indefinitely with my personal life anymore, is that I really love love. I believe in it, I believe in him, and I believe in breaking patterns. Now go kiss your person and stop speculating.”
Over on his own Instagram Stories, Stokes also confirmed the couple’s reconciliation.
“Something I’ve learned this year: don’t take advantage of the most beautiful things that in 33 years of life are fleeting,” he wrote. “Take accountability, learn from mistakes. Lean into love and say it often. 2026 my year of growth, my year of truth. Starting here, starting now. Happy new years ❤️.”
