Chase Stokes Reveals Relationship Rule with Kelsea Ballerini (Exclusive) [Video]

Chase Stokes is lifting the curtain on how he and girlfriend Kelsea Ballerini keep their relationship strong.

In PEOPLE’s September digital cover story, the Outer Banks actor, 31, reveals that he and the country star, also 31, have a rule of “never going more than three weeks” without seeing each other.

“We don’t BS each other. If we need to make the effort to show up when one’s across the country, we do it,” he says. “The amount of effort that we put into our careers, we should be doubling that in our personal lives. It’s about really putting in effort, and it’s not always easy and it’s not always convenient, but having a big, beautiful life didn’t come from convenience or ease.”

Though they typically split their time between Nashville, where Ballerini has a house, and South Carolina, where Stokes shoots Outer Banks, the two have temporarily set up a home base in Los Angeles. Ballerini is currently coaching her …