A new start. Kelly Clarkson has filed to legally change her name to Kelly Brianne amid her divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
The Texas native, 39, wrote in court documents filed on Monday, February 14, and obtained by Us Weekly that she had “a desire” to go by her first and middle names because “my new name more fully reflects who I am.” A hearing regarding the petition is set for March 28.
Us confirmed in June 2020 that the American Idol winner filed for divorce from Blackstock, 45, after nearly seven years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
While the pair ironed out the details regarding ownership of their Montana ranch, the American Idol winner was legally declared single in September 2021. Last month, Clarkson agreed to give her estranged husband a 5.12 percent share of the property, which amounts to $908,800. The Kelly Clarkson Show host was previously ordered to pay $150,000 per month in spousal support and an additional $45,601 per month to “benefit” their children.
The estranged couple share daughter River, 7, and son Remington, 5. Before calling it quits, the Voice coach was also the stepmother of the music manager’s kids with ex-wife Melissa Ashworth: Savannah, 19, and Seth, 14.
“We have a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists because we want to do it right,” the “Because of You” singer told Extra in October 2020 about her desire to make her split from Blackstock as easy as possible on their kids. “Everyone’s sad and it’s OK to be sad.”
The duo currently share joint physical and legal custody of River and Remington but learning to amicably coparent has been difficult for Clarkson. “It’s tough. … I know with me and Brandon, it’s just a difficult thing because we’re in different places, and it’s like, we both agree on the main things, but it’s a hard thing when you’re not together all the time, for me personally,” she explained on her talk show in February 2021.
She continued: “As long as you make sure it’s about the children and their best interests, then we’re both on board.”
The “Since U Been Gone” musician has also been candid about adjusting to life as a single mother, confessing during the Tuesday, February 15, episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that quarantining with her children has “broken” her.
“Sometimes women don’t rise. Sometimes we fall,” Clarkson jokingly told guest host Taraji P. Henson while calling into the show in her pajamas. “I thought we were done with quarantining, and I’m so tired. I broke a nail. I’m so broken. This is me broken. My almond milk just expired. America, this is what I look like. You’re welcome.”