In a good place! Kelly Clarkson is enjoying the newfound “freedoms” of single life after her messy divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.
“Kelly has joked about the fact that she’s going to be single forever, but at the same time she realizes forever is a long time,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Although she truly doesn’t see herself dating or getting married again, her friends have encouraged her to at least be open to the idea of putting herself out there. However, it’s just not where her head is at right now.”
The 40-year-old Kelly Clarkson Show host — who announced her post-divorce album, Chemistry, earlier this month — is “still in the process of transitioning to her new normal” after her split from the 46-year-old former talent manager, with whom she shares daughter River Rose, 8, and son Remington, 6.
“She really is enjoying the single life and all the freedoms that come along with it,” the source adds. “Kelly’s able to come and go as she pleases, makes commitments only when she feels it truly aligns with her passions, and the only obligations she feels are towards her kids. Nothing comes before them.”
The “Heartbreak Song” singer was married to Blackstock for nearly seven years when she filed for divorce in June 2020, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
“They clashed on so many levels and being in quarantine together heightened their problems to the point of no return,” an insider told Us at the time of their split.
The exes were locked in a two-year court battle over their assets and money, with Clarkson ultimately agreeing in their 2022 divorce settlement to pay Blackstock $115,000 per month in spousal support until January 2024, according to documents obtained by Us. The “A Moment Like This” artist, who also had to pay a one-time fee of $1,326,161, retained primary custody of their kids. (River and Remy will stay with their dad once a month.) She also consented to pay $45,601 a month in child support until River and Remy are 18 or can financially support themselves.
“[Divorce] rips you apart,” the “Since U Been Gone” singer shared on the “Angie Martinez IRL” podcast earlier this month. “I think the thing about divorce — especially having it publicized, and people thinking they know the whole thing — the hardest part of that is, like, it wasn’t an overnight decision,” she added. “Anyone that’s been divorced [knows]. That was years in trying to make — not make it work, cause I never wanted to be part of something to make it work — I wanted to make it beautiful. I wanted to make it awesome. I wanted to make it everything it possibly could be, and sometimes that just doesn’t happen.”
