Kelsea Ballerini recalled bidding on a date with Craig Conover at a charity auction during Season 2 of “Southern Charm” in 2014.
“Oh god, it haunts me forever,” the singer admitted after being asked about her brief cameo on the Bravo show during Tuesday’s Cosmopolitan’s “Cheap Shots.”
After noting that she did not bid her own money for the date, she told the outlet that she wanted to “clear this up” and tell fans what really happened.
“I was on [a] radio tour and I was doing a show for the radio station on a boat and they were filming ‘Southern Charm’ on the boat,” Ballerini, who was an up-and-coming star at the time, recalled.
The 31-year-old pointed out that she didn’t know the cameras were rolling because she was just focused on performing her song “Love Me Like You Mean It” so the radio station would play her music.
“Little did I know, my publicist set up the fact that I was going to bid on a date. I didn’t know,” she said. “I get pushed into the [camera] frame … bid it, got the date.”
Despite the big theatrics over the date, Ballerini didn’t actually get to be wined and dined by the By The Way co-owner.
“They auctioned [the date] off on the radio station for charity,” she said. “Some winner from the radio station got it.”
When asked if she was better off for not going on the date, she replied with a laugh, “Yeah, everything is great as it turned out.”
Years after the embarrassing fundraiser unfolded, Ballerini found love with Morgan Evans and they tied the knot in 2017. Unfortunately, things didn’t last and they split up in August 2022, settling their divorce three months later.
She moved on with “Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes in 2023 and they appear to be going strong.
Conover, for his part, started dating “Summer House” star Paige DeSorbo in 2021.
Despite talking about getting married and starting a family together, the “Giggly Squad” co-host revealed in December that she and Conover, 36, had ended their three-year relationship.
“I love him. I think he loves me. I think we will remain friends,” the 32-year-old shared on her podcast at the time.
“No one did anything. It wasn’t a bad thing. I think we both were just being really mature and saying what we want and what we didn’t want, and I think that’s extremely powerful to be able to voice how you’re feeling in real time and what you want for your future.”
Conover, for his part, claimed their breakup was not mutual and “came out of nowhere.”
“We didn’t want different things –– she just wanted other people, and that’s fine,” he claimed on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” earlier this month.
“Like, she didn’t want those things with me anymore, and, like, I’m not mad at her for that, but I don’t like this, ‘Love isn’t enough thing,’ because, you’ll make it work.”
The now-exes had struggled with being in a long-distance relationship, with DeSorbo living in New York City and Conover being based in Charleston, S.C.
