Kelsea Ballerini Almost Joined “The White Lotus” But Ended Up A Bridezilla Instead

Kelsea Ballerini, known for her sparkling country-pop hits and glittering stage presence, nearly made a splash on one of HBO’s biggest shows but not as herself. The 31-year-old Grammy-nominated singer recently revealed that she once auditioned for the role of Portia, the quirky assistant to Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya on The White Lotus season 2.

“I have no shame in my game,” Kelsea told PEOPLE at the Variety Power of Women Nashville event on May 1. “I auditioned for the second season of The White Lotus for the role [of] Jennifer Coolidge’s assistant that Haley did.” While she didn’t land the part, she had nothing but praise for Haley Lu Richardson, who played the role. According to Kelsea, Haley played the role “so brilliantly and beautifully.”

In the series, Portia ends up in some very messy business — think kidnapping and getting ditched in Sicily. So while Kelsea didn’t end up navigating international crime plots on screen, she still found her way into acting. Her first role? A bridezilla aboard a luxury ship in Doctor Odyssey, the ABC medical drama starring Joshua Jackson.

In fact, acting is part of the new chapter she’s fully embracing. In her Women’s Health cover story last October, Kelsea explained her mindset: “Run toward the things that scare you!” she said. But of course, she did have that voice in my head asking, ‘What if I suck on TV?’”

She had a backup plan, though. “Then you know what I do? I’ll go put on my glitter and go back onstage. That’s always going to be home base,” she joked.

Kelsea admitted she was nervous before stepping into her first acting role. At the Doctor Odyssey premiere in September, she described herself as “timid” and shared that she asked “a lot of questions” on set. “…I really hope I did the character and the show proud,” she said.

Luckily, she had someone close who knew the ropes. Her boyfriend, Outer Banks star Chase Stokes, became her behind-the-scenes coach. “I’ve always called acting his world,” Kelsea said, and so whenever I was asking him questions about this opportunity, I was like, ‘What about this in your world?’ And he was like, ‘Hey, it’s just a world. I’m a part of it and now you’re a part of it. It’s not my world.’”

By the end of that chat, Chase was running lines with her. “He was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’” she recalled.