Dustin Lynch’s public relationship history isn’t lengthy, but his breakup from former girlfriend Kelli Seymour certainly made headlines in 2022. At the time, the “Cowboys and Angels” hitmaker — who is performing at this year’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash on CBS — opened up about how ending their romance affected him and his music.
To learn more about Dustin and Kelli’s split, keep reading.
Who Is Kelli Seymour?
Kelli is a model, and started dating the “Hell of a Night” singer in 2019. During a 2020 interview with Us Weekly, Dustin gushed over how he made the first move with Kelli by sliding into her DMs.
“Gosh, we’ve been on so many awesome vacations. We’ve just been blessed [with] the way touring has worked out. That’s what we love to do. We love to go explore and do new things,” Dustin said at the time.
As for how they spent time together while Dustin was on the road for his career, the country music singer explained, “She’ll come out on the road when she can. That’s what’s so much fun about touring. Having someone to tour with now and having Kelli there, it’s kind of an excuse to go explore. You know, if I’m alone … there’s only so much fun you can have.”
The pair broke up some time in 2020 amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why Did Dustin and Kelli Break Up?
During a 2022 appearance on PEOPLE’s “Every Day” podcast, Dustin got candid about what happened between him and Kelli.
“It was one of those ‘we didn’t survive quarantine’ relationships,” he said while pointing out that they broke up while at the beach together. “I learned so much about myself and what I want out of life and what I want out of my future partner. … There’s no regret, but I think I found a lot of clarity after that happened and we started recording this album.”
Dustin then claimed that Kelli “ghosted” him while he wanted to remain friends with her. “I wanted to be friends, but it takes two to tango, so that didn’t pan out for me,” he added. “We had hours and hours of conversations, to which I thought, ‘Hey, I’m here for you, I’ll support you,’ and I still am.”
“It was just a clean break, which I think in hindsight is probably the best thing for us,” the Tennessee native concluded.
This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife