Kelsea Ballerini cheated on Morgan Evans with Drew Taggart

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By Francesca Bacardi

February 22, 2023 | 4:00 p.m.

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Talk about being “Blinded”.

While Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans’ divorce resulted in a “he said, she said,” Page Six can exclusively reveal what allegedly happened before the former couple’s marriage fell apart.

An insider tells us the country-pop singer cheated on her now-ex-husband with Chainsmokers member Drew Taggart in August 2019 in Lollapalooza — after collaborating on their 2018 hit track, “This Feeling” — but isn’t not come clean about it at Evans until 2021.

We’re told the alleged affair, combined with other issues, led Ballerini, 29, to break up with Evans, 37, last summer and blindside her with her decision.

A representative for Ballerini did not respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.

Representatives for Taggart and Evans did not comment.

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A source close to Taggart, recently linked to Selena Gomez, tells Page Six that the DJ, 33, was single at the time of his date with Ballerini.

Ballerini filed for divorce from Evans last August after nearly five years of marriage. Court documents obtained by Page Six at the time showed she cited “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of their separation.

Shortly before the “Just Married” singer’s “Call Her Daddy” interview dropped on Tuesday night, Evans took to Instagram to call out his ex-wife for not sharing the “reality” of their divorce. , which was finalized in November.

“It’s really sad for me to see this person, with whom I have spent so much of my life and whom I loved with all my heart, saying things that are not reality and omitting what really happened,” he wrote.

“She knows I’m not the type of guy to talk about these things publicly. If that’s what she needs to heal, I hope it helps. All I ask is that if you’re on my pages, don’t be mean. Don’t be mean to Kelsea, don’t be mean to each other.

“Life is too short,” the “Kiss Somebody” crooner concluded.

During her bombshell-filled podcast appearance, the “Penthouse” singer detailed their “wicked” split, including revealing that just before the CMA Awards in August 2019 — just weeks after his alleged infidelity — she and Evans had had an explosive fight.

“There were, like, many nights sleeping on the couch,” she told host Alexandra Cooper before recalling, “I slept on the couch the night before the CMAs, and I remember going to rehearsal at the arena and texting her, and saying, ‘I’ll see you on the mat.’ “

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Ballerini had previously addressed the breakup after it became a “public record” over the summer.

“I wanted you to hear directly from me that I am going through a divorce,” she began her statement at the time before calling the divorce a “deeply difficult decision” that was the “result of a journey of love, growth and effort”. which finally ended.

The “Half of My Hometown” singer noted that it was “difficult to find words,” adding, “I’m extremely grateful for the many years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the coming seasons.”

The Aussie singer, for his part, kept his initial statement succinct.

“I am very sad to confirm that after almost 5 years of marriage, Kelsea and I are separating,” he wrote. “I wish it had been otherwise, but unfortunately it’s not.”

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Although Ballerini recently released an EP about her divorce, titled “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,” Evans first disclosed their breakup in her song “Over for You,” which her ex described in “Call Her Daddy” as “opportunistic”.

“I felt really used in that moment,” she continued. “His healing journey is his healing journey. I respect that, but publicly exploiting it feels a little distasteful to me before it’s final.

Ballerini is currently dating ‘Outer Banks’ star Chase Stokes.