Kelsea Ballerini is looking back—and maybe cringing a little—at her unexpected appearance on Southern Charm nearly a decade ago.
During a recent episode of Cosmopolitan’s Cheap Shots game on Tuesday, February 18, the country star, now 31, reflected on her season 2 cameo on the Bravo hit. “It haunts me forever,” she admitted with a laugh.
If you don’t remember, back in 2015, Ballerini bid on Southern Charm’s Craig Conover during a charity auction hosted by Patricia Altschul. But according to her, she had no idea she was about to be part of the show.
“I was on a radio tour, doing a performance on a boat for a station,” she recalled. “They were filming Southern Charm on the boat. I didn’t know that.” At the time, she was simply trying to promote her single Love Me Like You Mean It—but her label apparently had other plans.
“Little did I know my label had set up the fact that I was going to bid on a date,” she revealed. “I didn’t know.”
Before she knew it, Ballerini was “pushed into frame” and bidding on Conover—winning the date for $5,001. But here’s the kicker: she never actually went out with him. Instead, the radio station auctioned off the date for charity, and the lucky winner got to spend time with Conover instead.
When the Cosmopolitan team jokingly referenced Conover’s recent breakup with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo, Ballerini just laughed it off. “Everything’s great as it turned out,” she said.
Back in 2015, Conover was thrilled that Ballerini bid on him, admitting, “At this moment, I’m dying. Like, I am so happy on the inside. I’m giddy as hell.” Meanwhile, his costar Shep Rose was a little salty about the whole thing, complaining, “It’s not fair. She’s a singer,” and joking that Ballerini might be “underwhelmed” by Conover.
Fast-forward to now, and both Ballerini and Conover have had their fair share of high-profile relationships. Conover dated Naomie Olindo, Natalie Hegnauer, and most recently, Paige DeSorbo, whom he split from in late 2024 after three years together. Meanwhile, Ballerini ended her nearly five-year marriage to Morgan Evans in 2022 and has been happily dating Outer Banks star Chase Stokes since early 2023.
Safe to say, that auction date may have been a fun Southern Charm moment, but Ballerini is more than happy with how things played out.