Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini kiss on their first public outing as a couple

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

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KB and CS played the New York Rangers game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden...and while they were in the stands, Chase grabbed her by the chin for a kiss...real romantic stuff.

The couple seem to be in good spirits - as we've seen them all over LAX and had a great time at a Nashville honky tonk...this is the first time they've both gone away at a public event as a duo. That we know, at least.

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

Plus, she went on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast last week - digging deeper into her side of what she saw as an unpleasant separation, blaming him for forcing her to do things like give up half from the house or cough up alimony.

As we reported, her recent comments prompted a public response from Morgan, who said she was omitting "what really happened."