When fans first met Kelly Clarkson on American Idol, she came across as a cheery entertainer
with big dreams, so it's a bit shocking to realize that she's actually been through some
pretty rough life events.
Grab a box of tissues, this is the tragic truth about Kelly Clarkson.
Childhood heartbreak
Clarkson's hit "Because of You" is chock full of heartbreaking lyrics that might remind
listeners of their worst breakups.
But this tragic tune isn't about one of Clarkson's exes, the painful ballad is actually about
Clarkson's biological father, Stephen Michael Clarkson, and her parents' messy divorce.
Stephen failed to keep in touch after he split from Clarkson's mom when she was 6 years old,
a devastating blow for any child.
Clarkson tried to reach out to Stephen herself, but she was reportedly rejected multiple times
in what she referred to as a "humiliating" effort.
In November of 2017, she told a Scandinavian talk show:
"And you're like, y'know, I shouldn't have to work this hard for someone's love.
Like, that's a little ridiculous.
And at that point, too, you grow up so much to where you go, okay, I don't even think
you're capable."
Clarkson, however, has a healthy outlook about her history with her father.
She clarified:
"I know a lot of people go, 'Aww,' but it's not really that situation.
I think If you don't grow up with it, it's hard to miss something you never had."
Homelessness and financial woes
Clarkson might be one of music's biggest names today, but, believe it or not, she was homeless
for a short period of time.
It all started when Clarkson's apartment in Los Angeles burned down, a stroke of bad luck
that motivated her to audition for American Idol.
In October 2011, she told The Guardian:
"I had to move home, I had no money and I had to sleep in my car for three days.
I just auditioned for this thing that said they'd pay you, and it happened to be American
Idol.
I didn't go into it thinking this would happen; I went into it thinking it might pay my electric
bill."
"Literally, my place in L.A. had just burned down.
I'm out of money, everything's gone.
I lived in my car for three days.
I just thought: 'If this pays my bills, it's worth it,' y'know, because I had NOTHING at
that point."
Surprisingly, that wasn't the first time Clarkson faced financial hardship.
In a June 2015 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Clarkson opened up about how her family once
lived "pre-paycheck to pre-paycheck" growing up.
Regarding her outlook on finances, she said:
"So I definitely had this whole mentality, I was like, 'Whatever I'm gonna do, I just
don't want to have to worry about that.'"
Bullying in the music industry
Although Clarkson's successful career might appear effortless on the surface, she has
endured some tough moments in the music industry.
Case in point: She butted heads with legendary record producer Clive Davis during her time
at RCA Records, a label owned by Sony Music.
Davis took over RCA in 2004, before the release of Clarkson's album Breakaway.
Clarkson, who was excited to work with Davis, was disappointed when he allegedly bashed
one of Breakaway's singles, "Because of You."
The performer claimed that Davis cruelly ripped the track apart to her face during a meeting.
She told Variety:
"I was told that was a s----y song because it didn't rhyme.
A group of men thought it was okay to sit around a young woman and bully her.
I was told I should shut up and sing."
"People get really, really cruel, and it's a lot to handle."
Clarkson, however, has been able to find the silver lining in her feud with Davis.
She explained:
"The only victory I see from the last 15 years is honestly just the fact that, even in such
an incredibly not-healthy environment, we were very successful."
She was hospitalized while pregnant
Clarkson was undoubtedly overjoyed when she learned she was pregnant with her first daughter,
River Rose.
She tweeted in November 2013:
"I'm pregnant!!!
Brandon and I are so excited!
Best early Christmas present ever."
Sadly, Clarkson's mood soon took a downward turn due to severe nausea.
She told BBC Radio:
"I had to kind of take longer off because I had such a horrible pregnancy, like, I was
like hospitalized.
It was just a bad pregnancy so I had to take off way more time than normal."
"I was really sick.
I went in the hospital at one point.
I got really sick to where I was losing weight at first, and then I got scared, you know,
because I couldn't stop getting sick."
But wait, that's not all.
Prior to giving birth to River, Clarkson didn't know that she has a serious health issue that
prevents her from delivering naturally.
She told Ellen DeGeneres in 2015:
"It turns out I can't ever have a natural birth, [there's a problem with] my pelvic
inlet or something."
If Clarkson hadn't requested a c-section before going into labor, she potentially could have
died while giving birth.
Talk about scary stuff.
A terrifying invasion of privacy
In a terrifying turn of events, Kelly Clarkson's Los Angeles-area home that she shares with
husband Brandon Blackstock and their two children was burglarized in December 2017.
Clarkson opened up about the scary news at the 2017 Billboard Women in Music Awards.
Clarkson revealed to Extra before the ceremony:
"And then we got robbed last night, but it..."
"What?!"
"Yeah, it was crazy.
We got here and our whole house was, like, bashed in..."
"I didn't know that!"
"Yeah, it was crazy!"
Although the thief only got away with "materialistic things" that she and Blackstock "didn't care"
about, Clarkson admitted that the whole situation was still upsetting because the perp was in
their children's bedroom at one point.
While Clarkson is lucky that no one got hurt, it's never a good feeling when a person's
privacy is invaded in such a manner, especially when kids are involved.