Kelly Clarkson has said her divorce from Brandon Blackstock was years in the making. However,
it was a passage in a best-selling memoir that finally pushed the singer to make the change.
In 2020, Clarkson surprised everyone when she filed for divorce after nearly seven years of
marriage. In court documents obtained by People, the singer cited irreconcilable
differences as the main catalyst behind their separation. At the time, it was reported that
the pair had been secretly going through some marital problems, which were only
made worse by being stuck in lockdown during the COVID pandemic. A source told Us Weekly:
"They clashed on so many levels, and being in quarantine together
heightened their problems to the point of no return. So she filed for divorce."
The source added that Clarkson and Blackstock didn't have the
fairy-tale marriage as they've led fans to believe, telling Us Weekly:
"Everyone thought Kelly and Brandon had the perfect marriage, but they definitely didn't."
To recall, Clarkson and Blackstock first met at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country
Music Awards in 2006, while Blackstock was still married to his first wife,
Melissa Ashworth. He and Clarkson reconnected after crossing paths at the Super Bowl in 2012,
and were engaged just after a few months of dating.
After tying the knot in Tennessee, the couple welcomed two children — daughter River Rose and
son Remington Alexander. Clarkson also became a stepmother to Blackstock's kids with Ashworth,
son Seth and daughter Savannah. While it's unclear exactly what went wrong
in their marriage, Clarkson has spoken out about their divorce,
including the heartbreaking moment she knew it was over for her and Blackstock.
Appearing on the "Angie Martinez IRL" podcast in March 2023, Kelly Clarkson
talked about the big red flag she noticed in her marriage. While referencing Untamed,
Glennon Doyle's memoir about finding happiness after her divorce, Clarkson said,
"The point that I finally was like 'Woo, I got to do something different for me,'
I remember reading this book called 'Untamed.' I looked at my daughter, and I thought, would
I want this marriage for my daughter? ... Like no, I don't. Then why would I want it for me?"
However, Clarkson said it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment or overnight
decision. She explained that her decision was years in the making, before adding:
"And then that's okay. It just didn't work out."
While chatting with Doyle on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2020,
Clarkson said there was a particular line in Doyle's book that helped open her eyes
about the sad reality of her marriage. According to Clarkson, the line read:
"A good mother is a model, not a martyr."
Clarkson then explained how the passage affected her, saying,
"It was that thing I needed to see to make a step in my life. And not just for me, but also for my
current husband. I'm like, 'This isn't happiness, for both of us. I feel both of us deserve better,
and neither one of us would want this for our children.' Reading that line so hit home for me."
Clarkson also talked about the impact her divorce has had on their children.
She has primary custody of their kids, and admitted that the split had also
been hard on River Rose and Remington Alexander. She told Angie Martinez:
"I literally ask my kids every night when we're snuggling, 'Are you happy? And if
you're not, what could make you happier?' Sometimes they'll say[,] [...] 'You know,
I'm just really sad. I wish mommy and daddy were in the same house.'"
"What I'm dealing with is hard because
it involves more than just my heart. It involves a lot of little hearts."
While it pains her to hear that from her children,
Clarkson said she wants to be as honest with them as possible.
"I think communicating with them and … 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."
Despite the rough divorce, Clarkson said that she has no regrets about
ending her marriage to Blackstock. She also hasn't sworn off love,
saying she would love to find someone again in the future. Clarkson told the host:
"I won't be getting married. I would love to fall in love."