Kelsea Ballerini gives more insight into her divorce from Morgan Evans on the new song “Penthouse,” which is off her six song EP, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat. The song features Kelsea singing about her and Morgan’s decision to move from their Nashville apartment to a home in the suburbs in the fall of 2020. She hints that this move started to lead to the downfall of their relationship, which eventually led to their summer 2022 split.
In the song, Kelsea sings about parting ways with Morgan and references their prenuptial agreement, which stated that they would divide their assets, including the home they bought. “It hurts putting s*** in a box, and now we don’t talk,” Kelsea croons. “And it stings rolling up the welcome mat, knowing you got half.”
Kelsea looks back fondly on the time that she and Morgan lived in their penthouse apartment together, but says that they both “changed” once they moved out. Looking back, she realizes that maybe they were never fully happy at all, even in those early days. “I guess wrong can look alright when you’re playing home in a penthouse baby,” Kelsea sings in the chorus, pointing out, “We played the part five nights, but we were never there on the weekends, baby.” This, of course, is a reference to the exes’ careers as country music singers, which took them out of town to play shows on weekends.
The last time Kelsea sings the chorus, she changes up the words to reference her and Morgan’s post-divorce life. “I kissed someone new last night,” she admits. “But now I don’t know where you’re sleeping, baby. We got along real nice, until I wanted out, now I know you hate me.”
Kelsea’s entire new EP is her version of events regarding the divorce. She sings about getting married too young and having distance take a toll on her and Morgan’s marriage (she was just 24 years old when they got married in 2017). In addition to the six new songs, Kelsea also wrote and directed a short film to visually represent the dissolution of the pair’s relationship.