Following Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstocks’ ugly two-year divorce, which was finalized in March, the singer opened up about one of the major realities that now comes with the holiday season. The former couple shares two kids -- 8-year-old River Rose and 6-year-old Remington -- and with the holiday season in full swing, the singer got real about how she and her ex have handled the holidays post-divorce.
Clarkson was chatting with Jewel, who has been divorced for seven years, about which holidays they get with the kids, and which ones their exes get. The talk show host explained how she splits the holidays with her Blackstock, saying on The Kelly Clarkson Show that her ex gets them for Thanksgiving, and she gets them for Christmas:
My ex actually has my kids every Thanksgiving as well. It’s not like my favorite holiday, and it is for his family, so I was like, ‘Cool.’
Jewel revealed how she splits the holidays the same way. As the singer/actress elaborated on her custody agreement, Clarkson chimed in, noting the difficulties of not seeing her kids every holiday. However, she also talked about the silver lining of it all:
It was weird for me, and I know you’ve been divorced for a while, it’s weird because you’ve always had a kid there, and all of a sudden you’re alone. At first, it’s weird, and then you’re kind of like ‘Ah, OK’ [puts her arms behind her head like she’s relaxing], I can do things, and it’s kind of incredible. You get a little me time.
While Clarkson appreciates the me time now, she also opened up about how hard it was to make the adjustment, saying:
In the beginning, I was a mess, but now I’m like ‘it’s awesome.’ And absence does make the heart grow fonder.
During the year, as the couple's divorce agreement states, the kids live full-time with Clarkson in Los Angeles. They also visit their father in Montana for one weekend each month.
Amid the legal battles that have been ongoing for years now, Clarkson took a season off from The Voice and spent the summer in Montana working out a routine with Blackstock. (This property in Montana was a major point of contention during their divorce.) However, with Blackstock staying in Montana, after moving to a new bachelor pad, the “Stronger” singer went up North for the season so their kids could spend time with both parents without traveling as much.
Following this past summer, Clarkson returned to Los Angeles to film her revamped talk show, which took the timeslot of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on the 2022 TV schedule. She will also return to The Voice on the 2023 TV schedule.
While the divorce was ugly and Kelly Clarkson is still in legal battles with Blackstock’s family, specifically his father Narvel Blackstock, it sounds like the agreement the two made about the holidays works well for them. One would think that Clarkson has some fun things planned for her brood, and it wouldn't be surprising if she posts about it at some point in the coming week.
