Kelsea Ballerini is setting the record straight about her and Craig Conover’s auction date nearly 10 years after appearing on Southern Charm.
At 31 years old, Ballerini remembered her appearance on season 2, episode 11 of the Bravo hit during the February 18th episode of “Cheap Shots” on Cosmopolitan. She admitted, “It haunts me forever.”
During her cameo, the country singer disclosed that she did not recall how much she bid on Conover, 36. This was because she was unaware of the auction before being suddenly thrown into it.
The episode, which was aired in May 2015, featured Patricia Altschul hosting a charity event where both Conover and Southern Charm costar Shep Rose were auctioned off. Ballerini, who was an emerging singer at the time, had no idea she was going to be on the Bravo series. She thought she was simply there to perform and promote her music for a radio appearance.
“I was on [a] radio tour, and I was doing a show for the radio station on a boat. They were filming Southern Charm on the boat. I didn’t know that,” Ballerini recalled. “I was just there playing, ‘Love Me Like You Meant It.’ Being like, ‘Hey, radio station, please play my song.’”
The Grammy nominee explained that her team had other plans. “Little did I know my label had set up the fact that I was going to bid on a date,’ she continued. “I didn’t know.”
Ballerini remembered getting “pushed into frame” where she bid on Conover and “got the date.” (The musician ultimately bid $5,001 for a date with the Sewing Down South founder.)
She revealed that she never went on the date because they “auctioned it off on the radio station for charity.” Ballerini said that the winner who called in eventually got to hang out with Conover.
After the Cosmopolitan staff joked, “You’re probably better off,” seemingly hinting at Conover’s latest breakup with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo, Ballerini let out a laugh.
“Everything’s great as it turned out,” she concluded.
While Ballerini was surprised to be part of Southern Charm back in season 2, Conover was excited that she made a bid on him at the time.
“I did not expect Kelsea Ballerini to bid on me,” Conover told the cameras in 2015. “I was worried about the auction because I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I hope it’s not some, like, weirdo or creepy person.”
Once Ballerini “won” Conover at the Wounded Warriors event, the two embraced in the crowd.
“At this moment, I’m dying,” Conover later confessed. “Like, I am so happy on the inside. I’m giddy as hell.”
Rose, 42, for his part, was upset that Conover was the recipient of Ballerini’s bid. “It’s not fair. She’s a singer,” he told the cameras, before teasing that Ballerini would be “underwhelmed” by her date with Conover.
While Conover didn’t actually go out with Ballerini, fans have watched his relationship ups and downs play out on screen over the years.
Conover dated costar Naomie Olindo from 2015 to 2017 after initially becoming friends in college. The reality star later dated Natalie Hegnauer for one year before calling it quits in 2021.
Conover began dating DeSorbo, 32, in summer 2021. The pair were together for three years before DeSorbo announced in December 2024 that they split over the holidays. The exes have since been making headlines for their quotes about the breakup — especially when it comes to rumors of infidelity that surfaced in January.
Ballerini, meanwhile, has become one of the biggest stars in country music since her brief Southern Charm cameo. Her love life has also become a hot topic in the press.
The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer filed for divorce from fellow country singer Morgan Evans in August 2022 after nearly five years of marriage. She moved on with Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes in January 2023.
