Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes "never really stopped" talking during their brief split.

The couple went their separate ways after two years of dating in September but it emerged this week they have reconciled and it seems friends are not surprised they are "back together".

A source told Us Weekly magazine: "[They] never really stopped being in touch after their brief split.

"They really picked up where they left off."

The 32-year-old singer realised how much she "missed" the Outer Banks star during their break.

The source said: "Kelsea wanted to give it another chance and missed Chase a lot."

And the 33-year-old actor was very willing to give things another go.

The insider added: "[Chase] never wanted the break-up.

"[He] always felt there was something between them and believed they just needed time to cool off and figure things out."

And having "worked through some of their 'issues", both Kelsea ad Chase are "hopeful this time around will be better."

Kelsea - who was married to singer Morgan Evans between 2017 and 2022 - and Chase have so far remained tight-lipped about their reported reunion. However, multiple sources have confirmed the news to Us Weekly, and the celebrity duo were spotted together near Edinburgh Castle in Scotland in October, fuelling speculation that they'd rekindled their romance.

Eyewitness Gemma Kennedy told the publication: "[Chase] was very nice. We had a wee chat about how he was having a holiday in Scotland before going to Croatia to film the final season of Outer Banks. They both seemed really happy and smiley."

Gemma noted that the famous duo "seemed like the sweetest people" during their outing in Scotland.

She added: "They were very much loved-up and holding hands at the bar."

Meanwhile, Kelsea previously admitted that she feared passing out before her first face-to-face meeting with Chase.

The singer and Chase spent weeks "texting and Facetiming" each other before they met for the first time, and Kelsea recalled feeling anxious ahead of their encounter.

During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Kelsea shared: "He came to this party that I was playing, and I had just gotten done playing. And I was … 'Guys - I'm sweating just thinking about this. I thought I was gonna pass out'.

"You can have chemistry over the phone but when you see each other you're like, what's the height difference, are we … are you … I didn't know what to do. And so I walked out to his car, and he got out of his Bronco - hot."