Kelly Clarkson is probably widely known as one of our bubblier entertainers, as the singer, very popular talk show host and The Voice coach can typically be found with a wide, beaming grin on her face and a lot of excitement in her heart for pretty much everything. Unfortunately, Clarkson is now going through something which has probably caused her some sadness lately, as she has recently filed for divorce from her husband, Brandon Blackstock.
According to the Associated Press, on June 4 Kelly Clarkson, who turned 38 in April, filed for divorce from her talent manager husband, 43-year-old Brandon Blackstock, after almost seven years of marriage. Clarkson, who filed under her married name of Kelly Blackstock, cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for filing, noting that she'd like for her maiden name to be restored legally and that she and Blackstock had a prenuptial agreement. Clarkson also asked that she not be forced to pay any form of spousal support to Blackstock.
The divorce proceedings won't just affect Clarkson and Blackstock, either. The couple share two young children, River Rose (5) and Remington Alexander (4), as well as Blackstock's two children from his previous marriage, 18-year-old Savannah and 14-year-old Seth. E! News has confirmed that Clarkson's divorce filing also includes a request for joint legal and physical custody of both River and Remington.
Clarkson and Blackstock married in a small ceremony at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee, in October 2013, after almost two years of dating. The duo originally met while Clarkson was rehearsing with the band Rascal Flatts for the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006, because Blackstock was working as the group's tour manager at the time and is the son of her former manager. It wasn't until about six years later, though, that they began dating after getting a push from Blackstock's (now former) step-mother, country legend Reba McEntire, who also happens to be one of Clarkson's idols.
While citing irreconcilable differences can mean a lot of different things when filing for divorce, these two have always had very busy lives with packed careers that can demand long periods of time apart, and Clarkson's workload has certainly grown in just the past year. Clarkson has been a full time coach to contestants on The Voice for five seasons, since 2018, but last fall she also added talk show host to her schedule with The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Clarkson spoke with People before the launch of her daytime talker, and revealed that not only had she and Blackstock decided to uproot their family, who had been living in Nashville, to move out to Los Angeles for her new show, but that Blackstock also spent a lot of his time working, saying of their time together as she worked on her show:
Even the show here, he has his own office. I have my own office. And he's always on the phone ... he's always working.
There had been no outward signs of trouble between Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock, and the couple and their kids had actually been spending quarantine together in Montana, with Clarkson posting a shot of Blackstock giving horseback riding lessons to their daughter on Instagram, and he, along with three of their kids, wishing her a happy birthday in a special video for The Kelly Clarkson Show.
It's always sad to hear that things between what appeared to be a solid couple haven't worked out, so here's hoping that, at least, divorce proceedings between Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock can move quickly and without making things more difficult for either of them.
