Everything Kelly Clarkson Has Said About Her Split From Brandon Blackstock

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Everything Kelly Clarkson Has Said About Her Split From Brandon Blackstock

Keeping it real. Kelly Clarkson surprised some when she filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock on June 4, 2020, after nearly seven years of marriage. At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the former couple “clashed on so many levels and being in quarantine together [amid the coronavirus pandemic] heightened their problems to the point of no return.” The insider added that the pair, who tied the knot in October 2013 and later welcomed two children, daughter River Rose and son Remington, “definitely didn’t” have a perfect marriage. “Brandon’s very laid-back, whereas Kelly’s pretty high-strung,” the source explained. The former American Idol winner made it clear in April 2015 that Blackstock wasn’t her “other half,” noting that the two did, however, have a lot in common. “He’s a whole and I’m a whole,” the “Miss Independent” singer told Redbook at the time. “I’ve never believed in someone taking care of me, and that’s probably because I grew up poor and without a lot of family stability.” Clarkson added: “We put each other first. I call it the oxygen-mask mentality — take care of yourself first!” [jwplayer 68CHS9Qq-l3ahXupL] Since calling it quits, Clarkson has been even more open about her dynamic with her estranged husband and how she’s feeling amid the breakup. “I mean, it’s no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster,” the Grammy winner said in September during an interview on Sunday Today With Willie Geist. “Personally, it’s been a little hard the last couple months.” When it comes to their family, however, the Voice coach has vowed to use discretion. In addition to their two children, Blackstock is father of two children, Savannah and Seth, from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth. “What I am dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart. It involves a lot of little hearts,” the “Already Gone” singer said during the season 2 premiere of The Kelly Clarkson Show in September. “We have four kids and divorce is never easy. We’re both from divorced families, so we know the best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts.” Scroll down to see what the “Since U Been Gone” singer has said about her split from Blackstock. [podcast_block]

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Emotional Roller Coaster

The River Rose and the Magical Lullaby author opened up about her life amid the coronavirus quarantine — ahead of her split announcement — calling herself “an emotional roller-coaster.” Clarkson told Glamour UK in a YouTube video posted in June 2020, but seemingly filmed before her divorce news broke, that “this has been really hard as a working parent ‘cause I’m still doing all the same jobs. It’s been exhausting, honestly.”

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Thanks for the Memories

After winning a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for the first season of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer gave her estranged husband a shout-out. “Thank you so much to @BBlackstock for believing in me & convincing me to do @KellyClarksonTV show and @lifeofT for being the greatest friend/assistant,” she wrote via Instagram in June 2020.

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On the Defense

Clarkson shut down a social media troll in August 2020, who claimed her marriage to Blackstock ended because she was fame hungry. The exchange began after the “Heartbeat Song” artist tweeted at America’s Got Talent judges Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum, as she filled in for Simon Cowell after his back injury. “Now Kelly is taking Simon’s place…no wonder her marriage didn’t work,” the Twitter user wrote after seeing the singer’s tweet. “Surprise she has time for her kids…not the good old country girl we fell in love with…it’s all about Kelly being on tv…and no one else…no tears for her…but for her kids.”

The Voice coach quickly fired back, tweeting, “Wow. Shaming a woman who has a great work ethic, is a great mom, and who steps up and fills in when a friend asks for a favor because that’s actually what ‘good old country girls’ do…. This can’t be who you are deep down. I have more faith in your heart. Aim higher please.”

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Silver Lining

The musician revealed during an interview on Sunday Today With Willie Geist in September 2020 that making her upcoming album was helpful in dealing with her breakup. “This next record, this will probably be the most personal one I’ve ever released,” the Texas native teased. “The whole record is basically every emotion you experience from the beginning of a relationship to the end of what it is now or where it is now. It’s been very therapeutic for me. It’s very honest.”

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Protector Mode

“I am a very open person, but I’m not going to be able to be truly open about this in certain aspects because there’s kids involved,” Clarkson told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published in September 2020, when discussing her breakup. “I think that I will navigate a way in which to be open and honest about it eventually, probably via [The Kelly Clarkson Show], and it’ll probably, I’m assuming, happen organically when someone says something in conversation or something. It definitely wouldn’t be planned.”

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Dumpster Disaster

While chatting with Willie Geist in September 2020, the Trolls World Tour actress got real about her life post-split. “I mean, it’s no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster,” she said. “Personally, it’s been a little hard the last couple months.”

Clarkson added: “I’ve been talking to friends that have been through divorce. I don’t know how people go through that without having some kind of outlet because it is the worst thing ever for everyone involved.”

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No One Can Prepare You

“You can ask anyone who’s gone through a divorce, I don’t think anyone expects it,” the Grammy winner told Hoda Kotb during an interview on Today in September 2020. “You see yourself growing old with someone and then life has a different path. It’s so hard on everyone, and you know me, I’m really open. I try to be open and share … It’s just a tricky thing to navigate.”

The “A Moment Like This” singer also explained how divorce affects everyone, not just the two people separating. “We all go through things,” she continued. “But at the same time, we have four kids total with each other. That’s a lot of hearts involved, and you just have to be really careful. … We’re in the public eye so that’s hard too, to try and be truthful but also keep your privacy.”

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Kids Come First

When kicking off season 2 of The Kelly Clarkson Show in September 2020, the “Love So Soft” artist opened up about her rough couple of months. “Let’s just get this out of the way, 2020 has been a dumpster fire. That’s really what it feels like,” she explained. “2020 has brought a lot of change also to my personal life. Definitely didn’t see anything coming that came.”

The UglyDolls actress continued: “What I am dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart. It involves a lot of little hearts. We have four kids and divorce is never easy. We’re both from divorced families, so we know the best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts. I’m usually very open, and I usually talk about everything, but in this case, I will talk a little bit here and there about how it affects me personally, but probably won’t go too far into it. Because, you know, I’m a mamma bear and my kids come first.”

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The John Legend of It All

The American Idol winner revealed in September 2020 that she’s turned to fellow Voice coach John Legend’s Bigger Love album as a source of light to get through her breakup, revealing the “sexy songs” are her go-to tracks. “This is a testament of how good this album is,” Clarkson said on the season two premiere of The Kelly Clarkson Show. “I started this show saying, ‘Hey, my personal life is kind of like [mimes explosion].’ And so, I’m just saying, if this album can be so great for someone like me that’s really wanting some Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morissette at this point, it’s a great album.”

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Taking It Day by Day

Clarkson admitted that she was grateful to have plenty of helping hands when it comes to her kids. "I have a great family and friends that are there for me," she explained to Extra in October 2020. "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. ... We have a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists because we want to do it right. Everyone's sad and it's OK to be sad."

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Doling Out Advice

Following the breakup, Clarkson gave brutally honest dating advice to a fan whose crush only messaged her through Instagram. “I don’t understand why you'd want to be with someone who only does it in front of people. That’s my thing,” she said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in October 2020. “Like, if they’re only going to show you they care in front of people … you need to know what’s happening behind closed doors, not in front of the doors, because that’s who you're going to be with.”

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Worried About the Kids

“It’s horrible. There are so many hard parts. The hardest for me is the kids. That’s the hardest for me,” the singer said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in December 2020. "I think as women we are trained … to take it all on and you can deal with it and you’re fine, but it’s your babies that you worry about.”

She added that it’s “a hard thing” to navigate her split in the public eye. 

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Change of Scenery

While speaking with Fran Drescher during a December 2020 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the "Since U Been Gone" singer joked that she's going to extremes to make herself feel calm and comfortable amid her rocky split. "I got a new house, it's very white and clean ... and I also redid my office here [at the show]. I looked at Kevin in our art department and I was like, 'Please help me make this make sense,'" Clarkson said after Drescher described her own 1999 divorce. "I just wanted to feel happy. The colors make me feel very good."

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The Power of Music

During a thoughtful conversation about songwriting with Garth Brooks on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Texas native admitted that her song "Piece By Piece" has taken on new meaning amid her split. "I wrote this song for my daughter and my husband at the time and little did I know it was only a piece of this whole puzzle," Clarkson said in December 2020. "Because now ... literally, there's a lyric on my new album in a song called 'Rock Hudson,' and it's like, 'By the way, piece by piece, I found out my hero's me.'"

The Voice coach also revealed that Brooks' music has also resonated with her as her life moves in a new direction. "I kid you not, I was listening to my playlist and 'The Dance' came on and I was like, 'No, that's the thing. That's it,'" she said. "I think what's interesting about it is, I sang that song from childhood and it never hit me. ... [Now] I got the point."

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Coparenting Struggles

In February 2021, the talk show host bonded with guest Khloé Kardashian about the struggles of coparenting. “It’s tough," she admitted on The Kelly Clarkson Show. "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.”

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Skeptical About the Future

While speaking with Gwyneth Paltrow during a March 2021 episode of her talk show, Clarkson admitted she's not sure she'd marry again. “Coming from someone who’s literally amidst a divorce, I can’t even imagine doing it again," she said. "So that’s amazing that you found love, and you found the space and the vulnerability — that level to say yes, and do it again. Was that hard for you?”

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Single Forever

During her talk show, Clarkson admitted that she prefers a coffee date over a cocktail. "I might be more of a coffee person. I don’t know if I’m willing to invest in an evening with you yet,” she shared in December 2021. “I’ll be single forever.”

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So Much Emotion

“The holidays come with a whole range of emotions,” the singer said before performing “Merry Christmas (To the One I Used to Know)" during her December 2021 Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around special. "I’m gonna be real with y’all — when I wrote this next song, I was crying my face off, which happens even at Christmastime, everyone. I had just put my kids to bed and I was just going through it, having a really hard time, and it’s been a really tough year for a lot of us. And I wrote this song for me, but also because there aren’t many holiday songs for people feeling alone or lost or just plain sad other than Dolly Parton’s classic ‘Hard Candy Christmas,’ which we all love. It’s about getting through a tough holiday. I absolutely love that song and it allowed me to write this.”

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Ignoring Red Flags

During an appearance on the “Love Someone with Delilah” podcast in December 2021, the "Since U Been Gone" singer said she has no regrets amid her divorce. "Also I feel like that’s what shapes you, it’s what makes you a better person, it’s what makes you recognize: ‘OK I missed those red flags, I missed that, I ignored that on purpose,’" she shared, before adding that she's not ready to date again. "I don’t think you have to have someone with you all the time. I really do enjoy my work, my kids, my creative self, that sometimes — I got stifled. Like in relationships, it’s hard to be as creative as I can because I wear my heart on my sleeve, so I really enjoy [being single]. ... Maybe in the future, you never know — well, I do know I won’t get married again — but you never know about love. I think we’re engineered, especially from where I’m from, to have to have that, and I don’t have that need. And I think that’s also what you learn about yourself in those hard moments.”

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Single Parent Struggles

The "My Life Would Suck Without You" singer was honest about the difficulties of being a single parent after quarantining with her children in February 2022. "Sometimes women don’t rise. Sometimes we fall," Clarkson jokingly told guest host Taraji P. Henson during an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. "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."

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A New Start

On Valentine's Day 2022, Clarkson filed to legally change her name in a move that represented her independence. "My new name more fully reflects who I am," the singer — who is hoping to go by Kelly Brianne — wrote in the court documents obtained by Us.

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Girl Power

While discussing their individual divorce experiences during a June 2022 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Emmy winner told The Chicks that having strong female friendships "really helped" her work through her split from Blackstock. Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire agreed, joking that they became "divorce buddies" on tour amid their respective separations.

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Figuring Out Their Priorities

"It’s obviously been a rough couple years so it was really important to me to, like, shut down for a minute," the singer explained during an appearance on Today about taking a family trip. "The kids were with me and with their dad. It was nice because they usually have to travel a lot because of our separation so we were both in Montana so, it was the first time I think my kids felt more centered as well."

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Musical Inspiration

“The whole divorce thing happened and I needed to write it,” Clarkson told Variety in September 2022 about her next studio record. “And then I didn’t know if I was going to release it, because you can be very angry in that state of mind. So some of the songs, they definitely cover the gamut of emotions; there’s everything on the album. It’s almost like the arc of a relationship, because the beginning is so beautiful and so sweet, and then it evolves. And sometimes it doesn’t evolve how you want.”

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Got Your Back

The Grammy winner revealed the advice she has shared with River and Remington about dealing with her and Blackstock's divorce. "I tell my kids this all the time," she told guest Mila Kunis on an October 2022 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. “You’re each other’s buddies.”

She continued: “So I always try and make them like buddies when they fight. I’m like, ‘No, no, no. This is your wingman. You’re supposed to stick up for each other. Don’t tattle tale all the time.'”

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Getting Emotional

The singer shared that her kids have expressed their sadness over their parents' split within the past few years. “I literally ask my kids every night when we’re snuggling, ‘Are you happy? And if you’re not, what could make you happier?’” Clarkson told the "Angie Martinez IRL" podcast in March 2023. "Sometimes they’ll say — especially the past two years — a lot of it — and it kills me — and I want them to be honest, so I don’t ever say, ‘Oh God, don’t tell me that.’ But a lot of times it would be like, ‘You know, I’m just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house.’ And they’re really honest about it. And I’m raising that kind of individual.”

Given that she also has separated parents, Clarkson said that she can empathize with her children's emotions. “I just sit there and I’m like, ‘I get it. I’m from a divorced family as well. I get it. That sucks. But we’re going to work it out. And you are so loved by both of us,'” she noted. “I think communicating with them and not treating them — not treating them like an adult, because they’re not — but not treating them like a child. They’re not small feelings. Those are huge feelings, and those are huge emotions.”

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A 'Screw You' From the Universe

Clarkson recalled performing "I Will Always Love You" at a tribute to Dolly Parton. "Right before I go on stage ... I had just gotten my text of like, 'Hey, your divorce is final, like, you've both signed,'" she said during a June 2023 SiriusXM Town Hall. "And I was like, 'OK.' Like, right before getting on a stage to sing 'I Will Always Love You.' I was like, 'Screw you, universe.' That's the timing?"

She continued: "What I do think though and [what] I'm thankful for is that was such a huge moment for me personally going on that nobody knew about that it kind of distracted me from the [pressure of singing]. ... So whenever I got through it and I got off stage, I was like, 'That didn't suck.' You know? Like, it wasn't like Whitney Houston or Dolly, but it didn't suck."