Hours before kicking off Kenny Chesney’s Here And Now Tour at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, Carly Pearce shared a special birthday message for her boyfriend, Riley King, a Nashville Realtor and former MLB player.
The country superstar and Kentucky native took to social media on Saturday evening (April 23) to share a heartfelt birthday message to King.
“Happy Birthday to my sweetie!” Pearce wrote, before adding, “You’ve made the last year so special for me & I hope this is your best year yet.”
The first photo of the two picture series shows Pearce all smile wrapped in King’s arms. Pearce’s captioned then read, “swipe right for my favorite photo of you 🥰♥️🎂,” which was a photo of King with the “What He Didn’t Do” singer’s dogs, Johnny and June.
“Thanks so much, babe ❤️ I love you!!” King wrote in the comments, thanking Pearce for the touching birthday message.
Lady A’s Charles Kelley compared the couple to “Ken and Barbie” in the comments of the post and Lindsay Ell also shared a message for King in the comments, “Happy birthday @rileyking3!! We love you!”
King celebrated his birthday at Pearce’s side in Florida, showing his support for the country hitmaker during the first show of one of the biggest tours Pearce has ever been a part of, just one day before her 33rd birthday.
During the show, King took to Instagram stories and shared a clip of his girlfriend on the massive stadium stage singing “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” which was the final song in her set.
Carly Pearce And Riley King Have Been Dating For Quite Some Time Now
In May of 2021, Pearce addressed the rumors regarding her love life with PEOPLE as rumors began swirling online after Pearce shared a photo of herself cosied up on the arm of Nashville Realtor and former MLB player Riley King in her Instagram stories. Although she didn’t reveal much about it, she did admit, “all I will say is I’m happy. I’ll tell you, I’m very happy about that.”
Several months later in November of 2021, Pearce chatted about King during an interview with Audacy’s Gunner & Cheyenne, saying that he is one part of her life that she wants to “keep private right now.”
Pearce wanted to keep her relationship with King private during the earlier stages, as she admitted, “It’s a big commitment to go public with somebody.” She added that she has already “learned the hard way that [going public too fast] can sometimes kick you in the butt.”
“He’s not new, I’m just not putting him out into the world like I have in the past,” Pearce told the Audacy hosts. “He’s hot. He’s so hot… And I’m certainly not trying to hide him, but certainly don’t want to exploit my whole thing.”
Since that interview last fall, Pearce and King has been more public with their relationship and King has accompanied Pearce to several award shows, tour dates and other public events.
Following Pearce’s opening set on the Chesney tour in Tampa on Saturday evening (April 23), she shared a photo of her performance on Instagram, wearing an Olivia Harmon slip top and Katz sunburst pleated maxi skirt from Alice and Olivia. The singer, who had a big smile on her face holding an acoustic guitar, reflected on the milestone performance/moment within her caption.
“I wish I could tell little Carly that one day she would be celebrating her birthday weekend opening up for @kennychesney 🥲♥️ First night of the #hereandnowtour!!!! #noshoesnation.”
Carly Pearce’s Support Set On The Kenny Chesney Tour Is A “Dream Come True”
Pearce will celebrate her 33rd Birthday on Sunday, April 24.
Additionally, the Grand Ole Opry member will continue on the Here And Now 2022 Tour with Kenny Chesney through August 27, where the tour wraps up with back-to-back night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Tickets for the tour are available HERE.
Ahead of the tour with Chesney, the reigning ACM Female Vocalist Of The Year dubbed the tour “a dream come true” and opened up about her friendship with the country superstar and shared how excited she is to get to watch his live show every night on the road.
“This has been like a dream come true for me,” she told Country Now. “I feel like he is the ultimate artist to be a part of a tour and I feel like I’m gonna learn so much from him.”
“I’ve loved Kenny Chesney forever, and he’s become a friend of mine over the last year,” Pearce previously told Everything Nash. “He’s honestly been a mentor, and I’m so excited to get to watch his show every night, and hopefully learn something every night. I feel like he’s the King of Country Music for touring.”