Kelly Clarkson Has Been Crushing Single Life Since Her Divorce
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If you’re like us, you’re totally obsessed with watching Kelly Clarkson coach hopeful singers on The Voice. The 36-year-old American Idol alum, three-time Grammy winner, and Billboard Music Awards host has owned the stage for nearly two decades. But the “Since U Been Gone,” and “Love So Soft” singer admits she wasn’t so successful in love—until she met husband, talent manager Brandon Blackstock. He’s also her manager—and for them, mixing business and pleasure makes their relationship Stronger. Checkout a timeline of the duo’s love:
1. June 2012: They’re dating!
The two confirmed their couple status to the public at a Barn Party Bonfire Celebration in Tennessee on May 31, 2012, US Weekly announced. Then a star of the singing competition Duets, Kelly beamed about her new love. "I'm so happy now…I love that I'm in a relationship right now...I want a life... The past five years or so I've found my groove and my balance,” she told the magazine. One snag? Kelly said that he was ruining her creativity. “I’m writing all this happy sh--! It’s killing me,” she said.
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2. It Was an Instant Connection
When you know, you know, right? In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Kelly said that as soon as they met—they bonded over being from the same hometown in Fort Worth, Texas—she thought to herself “oh, we’re so getting married,” reported US Weekly. Kelly says that he was in a relationship at the time, so she kept her distance, but “when he became single, I was on the prowl.” Need more proof? You don’t go in People mag and proclaim your love for nothing, right?
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3. Kelly Feels The Heat
When you want someone…you want them. Kelly told SiriusXM listeners that Brandon was the first person she was ever sexually attracted to. “I honestly thought I was asexual -- I’d never been turned on like that in my whole life,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Oh that’s that feeling… okay! That’s what they were talking about in Waiting to Exhale.’ I just got it. I just didn’t have a clue,” ET reported. Get it, girl!
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4. October 2013: Kelly and Brian Tie The Knot
Miss Independent no more. Ready for a cry? Check out a snippet from their wedding video—he’s even rowing her in a boat because of course he is. The singer revealed they exchanged vows at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee. As for how they make working together work? Kelly said on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan in 2017. “We complement each other well. We’re a really great partnership, not only for marriage but for work as well.”
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5. Being a Stepmom Made Her Realize She Wanted to Be a Mom
Kelly admits that she didn’t expect to get married or have kids. “I was very much a gypsy. I just loved traveling…My job was kind of perfect for me in that sense,” Kelly said on The View in 2016. “I had a very high bar like for if was going to date someone because if I’m going to add someone you have to bring something…” Kelly adds that it was being a stepmom to his kids from aa previous relationship, Savannah and Seth, who are “amazing” and made her want to have kids.
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6. June 2014: Welcome, River Rose!
Just a little over a year after they wed, Kelly gives birth to a little girl, River Rose. “Our baby girl River Rose Blackstock arrived on June 12th! Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes! Brandon and I are on cloud 9!!:)” she wrote on Twitter. Before she was even pregnant she predicted it. “My first child will be a girl—I know it in my soul,” Today reported.
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7. She had a big surprise in store for her fans…
Summer 2015 she said something big during a concert in LA: "This is not how I wanted to announce [that I'm pregnant]. My makeup artist is backstage hating me. I didn't want you to think I'm on pills or something." And she added: "I would like to apologize to my husband. This was not planned. I'm just so hormonal. Everything is great, I haven't vomited yet. That's a win y'all."
8. April 2016: It’s a boy!
They added another little to their family. Kelly gives birth to her second child, a baby boy. “Remington Alexander Blackstock was born 4/12/16 & he is healthy & we couldn’t be happier or more in love!” she Tweeted. Kelly’s pregnancies haven’t been easy; she’s revealed that she experienced all-day sickness so bad, she had to be hospitalized and be hooked up to IVs.
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9. Random fact: He owns a plane
She’s certainly proud of all his talents, too: “Congrats @brandonblackstock on your new plane 😊 I married Maverick y’all 😜 he’s been flying for years and finally bought himself a @cirrusaircraft #dreams #reality#sexyandheknowsit” Don’t forget about that last hashtag-- #sexyaandheknowsit. You two…
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10. They’re all about family
Kelly and Brandon are on the same page about raising strong, resilient kiddos. “My husband and I are really blunt with our kids and I’m like, ‘Pretty fades, character lasts.’ Being fun lasts, being a good human matters and being smart is important,” Kelly told People. As for their roles in the fam? It’s equal, baby, she said to Marie Claire: I mean, we just have the regular marriage, kids thing, to where it’s like “I am not putting them to bed, you are.”
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Kelly Clarkson has been America’s sweetheart since she popped onto the American Idol stage with her 2000s-era chunky highlights and that girl-next-door smile. And these days, she’s a force to be reckoned with. From her Las Vegas residency, to her new hit album and talkshow success, Kelly's definitely been busy. Of course, the past few years have been challenging, too. In the background of all that success, she's gone through a pretty protracted divorce process with her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock. Most recently, he was ordered to pay her more than $2.6 million that a California labor commissioner ruled he had "overcharged" her while working as her manager, per Page Six.
After tying the knot with her former manager in 2013, Kelly filed for divorce on June 4, 2020, while quarantining in Montana with their children, River Rose and Remington Alexander (who were five and four at the time), according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly. Earlier that year, Kelly had also listed her Los Angeles home for nearly $10 million, per People.
While Kelly's music career has been wildly successful and even led to The Kelly Clarkson Show, the "Since U Been Gone" singer has long been open about the difficulties she's experienced in her love life before meeting Blackstock. "When I met Brandon, I wasn’t looking for a friend. I have a lot of great friends! I was looking for a lover," she told Redbook in 2017.
Kelly has been open about her divorce, but the star has also been clear that she wants to protect her young kids. "I am an open book, but at some point, I'm a mama bear more than I am a person in the public eye. So I care 100-percent more about my children than I do anything else on this planet," she told Entertainment Tonight. "So, that's been the hard thing of, like, yes, I'm willing to share my experience and, yes, it is the worst. I mean, the past few months have been horribly sad. But at the same time, I have to think, 'Hmmm, like, what I say has a domino effect in other people's lives.'"
Now, with her breakup album “Chemistry” getting a lot of buzz and her ex's financial dealings in the news, here's a look back at their relationship timeline, from their first meeting to divorce proceedings.
December 15, 2012: Blackstock pops the question.
After dating for less than 10 months (!), Blackstock proposed to Kelly with a giant yellow canary diamond. Kelly was super casual about it, tweeting "I'M ENGAGED!!!!!" from the rooftops. "I wanted y'all to know!! Happiest night of my life last night!" she continued in the post. "I am so lucky and am with the greatest man ever:)"
October 20, 2013: Kelly and Blackstock tie the knot.
After just over a year of dating, Kelly was "Miss Independent" no more. The singer revealed on social media that she and Blackstock exchanged vows at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee. "We complement each other well. We’re a really great partnership, not only for marriage, but for work as well," Kelly said on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan in 2017.
In the mood for a good cry? Check out an adorable snippet from their wedding video. He’s even rowing her in a boat because, OMG, of course he is.
2013: Kelly becomes a stepmom to Blackstock's children, realizing she wants to have kids of her own.
Before Blackstock, Kelly didn’t expect to get married or have kids. "I was very much a gypsy. I just loved traveling… My job was kind of perfect for me in that sense," she said on The View in 2016. "I had a very high bar, like, for if was going to date someone because if I’m going to add someone you have to bring something…"
In that same interview, she explained that it was being a stepmom to Blackstock's daughter and son from a previous relationship, Savannah and Seth, who are "amazing," that made her want to have kids.
April 12, 2016: It’s a boy!
Kelly and Blackstock added another little one to their family when she gave birth to her second child—a boy. "Remington Alexander Blackstock was born 4/12/16 & he is healthy & we couldn’t be happier or more in love!" she tweeted two days after the birth.
Earlier in 2015, she revealed on CBS This Morning that she experienced all-day pregnancy sickness that was so bad she had to be hospitalized and hooked up to IVs.
March 30, 2019: Blackstock surprises Kelly during her 'Meaning of Life' tour.
On the final night of Kelly's 'Meaning of Life' tour, she performed her emotional hit "Piece by Piece," a song she wrote about her loving relationship with Brandon, as well as her difficult one with her father.
Kelly was busy belting it out when Blackstock snuck onstage playing a guitar. Taking over for Kelly's regular guitarist, he waited until his wife turned around. Kelly was so overcome with emotion when she saw Blackstock, she stopped singing and started tearing up. "This is my husband," she told the audience—with a huge smile—before resuming the song. She serenaded her husband before ending the song with a kiss. (I'm not crying—you're crying.)
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Dec. 22, 2019: Kelly reveals she has sex with her husband every night.
On a December episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kelly revealed her bedtime routine: sex with Brandon. Her guest Brynn Cartelli asked: "What's the last thing you do before you go to bed?" Kelly laughed and answered: "I was single for many years, so… I have children and how one makes children is generally what I do before bed. That's not a lie. That's real, and it's not weird. It's natural. This is ending well."
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January 2022: Blackstock receives a percentage of the couple’s Montana property.
The former couple reached a settlement on their Montana property. Court documents obtained by USA Today show a judge gave Brandon a 5 percent stock in their Warren Peak Ranch Property, which was valued at about $17.8 million. While the court previously ruled Kelly would keep ownership of the ranch, the new settlement gave Brandon an ownership stake equal to about $908,800.
June 2023: Kelly releases her breakup album.
Kelly released “Chemistry,” a powerful album that discussed the dissolution of her relationship, and marriage. Songs included, “that’s right,” “skip this part” and “i hate love.” The album debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200, and became her ninth top-10 album in the United States, per Billboard.
People reported that Kelly’s new song “Me” is definitely about Blackstock. Her lyrics even reference “Piece by Piece,” a previously-written love song that was dedicated to her then-husband.
"I don't need somebody to hold me / Don't need somebody to love me / Don't need somebody to pick these pieces up," Kelly sings in the song. “I put together my broken / Let go of the pain I've been holdin' / Don't need to need somebody / When I got me."
Dec 2023: Blackstock is ordered to pay Kelly millions he overcharged her when representing her.
On Dec. 1, court documents obtained by TMZ say Blackstock was ordered to pay Kelly $2,641,374, money a California Labor Commissioner says he overcharged her while working as her manager.
The funds are related to Kelly's work on “The Voice,” with Norwegian Cruise Line, Wayfair, and as the host of the Billboard Music Awards. Blackstock plans to appeal the decision.
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