Chase Stokes, Kelsea Ballerini Kiss at First Public Outing as Couple

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes are making public appearances as a couple now, and they're all smiles about it ... despite her messy divorce drama with Morgan Evans.

KB and CS hit up the New York Rangers game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden ... and during their time in the stands, Chase grabs her by the chin for a kiss ... real romantic stuff.

The couple seems to be in great spirits -- while we've seen them all over each other at LAX, and havin' a great time at a Nashville honky tonk ... this is the first time they've both gone to a public event as a duo. That we know of, at least.

Of course, Kelsea being on cloud 9 comes on the heels of some serious turmoil between her and her ex-husband. The drama didn't end when she and Morgan called it quits last year, because Kelsea dropped an album on Feb. 14 about the end of their marriage.

What's more, she went on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast last week -- digging deeper into her side of what she saw as a nasty split, blaming him for forcing her to do stuff like give up half the house or cough up alimony.

As we reported, her recent comments got a public response out of Morgan, who said she's leaving out "what really happened."

He kept things pretty vague, but there are reports Kelsea cheated on Morgan back in 2019 with The Chainsmokers member Drew Taggart. Kelsea allegedly told Morgan about it in 2021, which led to the divorce.

Obviously, it's become a messy situation, but Kelsea and Chase still look pretty happy!