Songfacts®:

• On February 14, 2023, Kelsea Ballerini released a six-track EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat accompanied by a 20-minute mini movie. The inspiration behind the entire project was her recent divorce from her husband of five years and fellow country artist, Morgan Evans.
• The EP and short film are both vulnerable displays of heartbreak that showcase Ballerini's healing journey. "I wasn't worried about anything other than presenting the songs as honestly as possible," she said of the release in a statement. "Most of them started with me and my guitar."
  
  "I was writing by myself for most of the project, and it was nice to trust myself again," Ballerini continued. "The only way I've been able to handle my life since I was 12 was to write about it. Ironically, I started writing music because my parents got divorced; that was my therapy. Rolling Up The Welcome Mat was how I processed everything. It's the way I got my feelings out of my body and heart and put them to music, which is the purest way I could've handled it."
• Ballerini wraps up with project with this reflective message of self-worth. She sings:
  
  For a while the shoe fit
  But then I outgrew it
  And staying only made me get real good at pretend
  So, I hope I never leave me again
  
  Introducing "Leave Me Again" during a CMT Storytellers performance, Ballerini said:
  
  "It's the song where you finally go, 'I'm not mad anymore. I don't even know if I'm sad anymore.' I think I just want well for everyone and at the end of the day, the lesson I'm taking away is I have to honor myself and honoring yourself is the most beautiful thing you can do especially when it goes, like, 'I'm a people pleaser, you know I'm a Virgo,' I'm aways like 'You good?' We good?' I'm a peacemaker, I'm like, 'What can I do?' Like, let me shrink myself to make you feel better.
  
  And I'm not in that season in my life right now and I'm really challenging myself to show up as someone who isn't scared to, like, go there, because I think it helps open community and conversation. It's the rawest thing I've ever done. It's the closest to the chest I've ever been. And I'm proud of that."
• Kelsea Ballerini's 2017 Unapologetically album also tells a story of recovery from a difficult breakup and self-discovery. It includes "Miss Me More," where the country star conveys a similar message of self-empowerment.
• Ballerini wrote the song on her own and co-produced it alongside Alysa Vanderheym. The Nashville-based songwriter Vanderheym co-wrote eight tracks on Ballerini's 2022 Subject to Change album, including "Heartfirst" and "What I Have."
• Kelsea Ballerini started dating Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes soon after her divorce was finalized. She sent Stokes a pre-release copy of Welcome Mat, acknowledging that its lyrics would spark questions. Instead of shying away, he lifted her up, even supporting her side-stage during her performances, showing they understand and respect each other's artistic honesty.