Baby steps. Kelly Clarkson opened up about how her daughter River, 6, and son Remington, 4, are handling the big changes that have come amid her split from Brandon Blackstock.
“It’s just one day when you’re like, ‘Wow, this has forever changed,’ and it’s not just my heart [that] has changed. There’s other little hearts, too,” the “Miss Independent” singer, 38, told Extra on Monday, October 12, while discussing the season 19 premiere of The Voice with fellow judge Gwen Stefani. “I have a great family and friends that are there for me. … It’s a very hard thing to navigate, to be able to be honest and share your story, so maybe you can help someone else [by speaking up], but at the same time protecting these little kids you adore.”
Clarkson has been putting on a brave face in the public eye in the wake of her split from the music manager, 43, but is grateful for to have professional help when it comes to getting her little ones adjusted.
“We have a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists because we want to do it right,” she added. “Everyone’s sad and it’s OK to be sad.”
Stefani, 51, was in the same position after she ended her marriage to Gavin Rossdale in 2016. The exes share sons Kingston, 14, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, 6, and have worked hard to coparent cordially following their split.
“You’re doing a really great job,” the former No Doubt lead singer told Clarkson on Monday. “I think it’s hard to be a public person. Now you add in a family … They didn’t choose it.”
Us Weekly confirmed in June that the American Idol season 1 winner filed for divorce from Blackstock after nearly seven years of marriage. The music manager is also the father of daughter Savannah, 18, and son Seth, 13, from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth.
As Clarkson continues to navigate the rocky road ahead, the Voice coach admitted that it’s hard for her to be “truly open” while taking her blended family’s feelings into account.
“There are a lot of little hearts involved in this and while people feel, ‘Oh my gosh, what a loss,’ imagine how it is in the epicenter of the storm,” she told the Los Angeles Times in September. “It’s a lot to process and deal with, just as a family. So because it’s not just me, I probably won’t go too deep with it.”
