No One Saw It, But Kelsea Ballerini Wore Her Late Dog's Name Over Her Heart at the Grammys

Kelsea Ballerini turned heads on the 2026 Grammys red carpet in a dazzling, beaded backless dress adorned with paisley details. But for the “Cowboys Cry Too” songstress, the most meaningful part of her look was hidden inside, an intimate stitching that paid tribute to her late dog.

On Instagram Stories, Ballerini shared a close-up of a heart stitched inside her dress, positioned over her own heart, with the name “DIBS” embroidered inside.

The touching tribute comes less than a month after Ballerini announced Dibs’ passing on Instagram. The artist shared that Dibs had died on Jan. 7, and included a series of heartfelt photos and videos with her beloved pup, including a throwback from when she first got him, a sweet moment of Dibs visiting her on the set of The Voice, and a video of Ballerini and her boyfriend, Chase Stokes, playing with him by the pool.

“[T]here are no words to articulate his role in my life, but i couldn’t have done the last ten years without him, and he will always be my soul dog…and i pray and believe we’ll find each other in every life,” her caption read.

“[H]is love and reach can’t be captured in an instagram photo dump, or in a caption, but here’s a look at some happy from dibs. thank you for loving him so loudly with me. i feel like the luckiest girl in the world that i got to be his dog mom, greatest gift of my life,” she added.

Ballerini was nominated for Best Contemporary Country Album at the 2026 Grammys for her record Patterns. The award ultimately went to Jelly Roll for his studio album, Beautifully Broken.

Kelsea Ballerini Opens Up About Her Reconciliation With Chase Stokes at the Grammys

On the Grammys red carpet, Ballerini didn’t shy away from addressing her reconciliation with Stokes, which made headlines in December 2025, just three months after the couple called it quits following two years of dating.

“I feel like outwardly, it looked a lot more dramatic than it was,” Ballerini shared with Entertainment Tonight. “And that was quite the learning lesson for us.”

Though Stokes was not by her side at the music event, she did share that he was there while she got ready. “We’ve been together for quite a while now and done a lot of life together and he was with me getting ready today and he’ll be with me when we wrap. I love love and I believe it in it.”