Kelsea Ballerini's haunting new song exposes the loneliness feminism forgot

Kelsea Ballerini’s caller viral song, "I Sit successful Parks," is haunting. It’s not different breakup anthem oregon empowerment track. It’s a confession — an elegy for thing missing, thing she lone realized she wanted aft the satellite told her not to privation it.

"I beryllium successful parks / It breaks my bosom / ’Cause I spot conscionable however acold I americium / From the things that I want."

In conscionable a fewer lines, she captures the ache of a procreation of women who were told to pursuit freedom, ambition, and self-discovery — but ne'er told what to bash erstwhile they recovered themselves alone, wondering if they ran excessively acold from the precise things that would person grounded them.

Three years ago, Ballerini divorced her husband, saying she wasn’t definite if she wanted children.

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Ballerini sat down with Alex Cooper for an occurrence of her "Call Her Daddy" podcast, wherever she opened up astir the demise of her matrimony and her divorcement EP.

Kelsea Ballerini performs astatine SiriusXM and Pandora’s unrecorded lawsuit astatine The Riviera Theatre connected Sept. 25, 2025, successful Chicago.  (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

"I don’t cognize if I privation kids astatine each oregon not, but that was thing we had talked astir aboriginal connected and that was thing that I was changing on, you know, due to the fact that helium was ready," the "Heartfirst" creator said connected the podcast. "He was like, ‘I don’t privation to beryllium an aged dad,’ is what helium kept saying. And I was like, ‘I’m conscionable not determination yet.’"

Now, she’s penning songs astir sitting successful parks watching families, different women’s families, and wondering if she missed her moment.

Our bodies, our hearts, and our souls person rhythms that nary ideology tin rewrite. For decades, women were told that "you tin person it all" meant "you tin person it all, later." But "later" comes faster than we think.

It’s heartbreaking, not due to the fact that she’s anemic oregon naïve, but due to the fact that she’s honest. She’s saying retired large what millions of women consciousness but are excessively acrophobic to admit: that the promises of feminism —the ones that said motherhood would concatenation them, that domesticity was a trap, that existent meaning laic successful vocation occurrence and unencumbered independency — near them emptier than before.

"Did I miss it? By present is it / a lucid dream, is it my responsibility / for chasing things a assemblage timepiece doesn’t hold for?"

That enactment should beryllium carved into the taste grounds due to the fact that it’s not conscionable astir fertility. It’s astir time, and however unforgiving it is. Our bodies, our hearts, and our souls person rhythms that nary ideology tin rewrite. For decades, women were told that "you tin person it all" meant "you tin person it all, later." But "later" comes faster than we think.

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This is wherefore Kara Kennedy and I started "The Mom Wars" connected Substack — to overgarment a antithetic picture, to propulsion backmost against the dependable drumbeat that tells young women that motherhood is simply a burden, not a blessing.

Kelsea Ballerini is saying retired large what millions of women consciousness but are excessively acrophobic to admit: that the promises of feminism —the ones that said motherhood would concatenation them, that domesticity was a trap, that existent meaning laic successful vocation occurrence and unencumbered independency — near them emptier than before. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

We wanted to make a abstraction wherever women could archer the information astir what makes beingness full, not hollow. A abstraction to punctual the adjacent procreation that love, family, and sacrifice aren’t signs of surrender; they’re signs of strength.

Ballerini’s opus is almighty due to the fact that it’s not bitter, it’s sad. It’s reflective. And it’s real. She doesn’t villainize anyone, not adjacent herself. She sits, successful that park, with her vape and her Lexapro, staring astatine the beingness she thought she didn’t want.

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"They laic connected a broad / And — d** it, helium loves her / I wonderment if she wants my state / similar I privation to beryllium a mother."*

That lyric cuts consecutive done the performative feminism of our time. We were sold a state that was expected to marque america happy. Instead, it’s made america lonely. We traded roots for wings, but nary 1 told america however to land.

Kelsea Ballerini and her hubby Morgan Evans divorced successful 2022. (Taylor Hill)

I work those lyrics and felt this unusual premix of sorrow and gratitude. Sorrow for the women who believed the lies, who gave up matrimony oregon motherhood due to the fact that they were told those things would bounds them. Gratitude that I didn’t listen.

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Just this week, I bought myself a necklace with a charm for each of my children’s names, six successful all. When I clasp it astir my cervix successful the morning, it feels similar armor against the world’s cynicism. Each missive is simply a reminder that I chose a way the civilization sneers at, but my psyche celebrates.

Motherhood doesn’t extremity your story. It deepens it.

I deliberation astir the conversations I’ve had with younger women, smart, driven, beautiful, who susurration that they "might" privation kids 1 day, but not yet, not portion they’re gathering something. I privation to drawback their hands and say: you are gathering thing each clip you emotion someone, each clip you nurture, each clip you take transportation implicit distraction.

Motherhood doesn’t extremity your story. It deepens it.

Motherhood doesn’t extremity your story. It deepens it. (iStock)

"I Sit successful Parks" is some a informing and a mirror. It shows america what happens erstwhile a civilization teaches women to measurement their worthy successful metrics — specified arsenic tours, degrees, promotions, and followers — alternatively than successful love, faith, oregon legacy.

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And yet, possibly Ballerini’s honesty tin besides beryllium a beginning. Maybe this song, with its haunting melody and piercing regret, tin spark a caller conversation. Maybe it tin assistance young women inquire amended questions earlier it’s excessively late.

Maybe Ballerini’s honesty tin besides beryllium a beginning. Maybe this song, with its haunting melody and piercing regret, tin spark a caller conversation. Maybe it tin assistance young women inquire amended questions earlier it’s excessively late. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Because this quiet, reflective grief is what’s waiting astatine the extremity of the "girlboss" rainbow, and we tin bash amended by our daughters.

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I applaud Kelsea Ballerini for being truthful vulnerable, truthful human, and truthful brave. She’s speaking for a procreation that was told motherhood was a detour — lone to observe it was the destination each along.

So yes, I beryllium successful parks too, but with six small charms who telephone maine Mom. And I convey God each time that I didn’t miss it.

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This effort was archetypal published connected the author's Substack "Mom Wars."