Kelly Clarkson Reveals Why She Stayed in 'Limited' Marriage for So Long
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Kelly Clarkson continues to open up about the details of her divorce, which was finalized early last year.
The powerhouse vocalist, who split from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2020, has recently been much more transparent about her failed marriage, and is now revealing what took her so long to actually exit the relationship.
"My ego... [I thought,] 'I can do this. I can handle so much.' My ego is, 'I can control my actions, I can control my reactions, I can do this and I can reach this person and I can get through.' It becomes a little bit of your ego that gets in the way," the singer-songwriter told the host of We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle on Tuesday.
She continued, adding that the former couple's children had a lot to do with her decision to stay for so long as well. "If I'm being completely honest, we don't want to do what we saw done," Clarkson—whose parents also got divorced when she was 6 years old—admitted. "I don't want my kids to be those kids at school."
It's never easy to call it quits, especially when little ones are involved. On the plus side, though, the host of The Kelly Clarkson Show did note that it's still "very different" from her own upbringing, as she and Blackstock's kids—daughter River Rose, 8, and son Remington "Remy" Alexander, 7—are growing up in a "progressive city" where divorce is, assumably, more common.
"But in the south, there was like two of us with divorced parents in our class," she said, later adding, "You try so hard and you think, 'I do not want to do that to her, I don't want to do that to him' — that you never start thinking about yourself. That's why sometimes to be selfish was important to me."
Additionally, other personal feelings were at play, too, as she went on to express how she felt her own light was "dimming" as a result of being in the relationship.
Related: Kelly Clarkson Blows Fans Away With Performance of New Heartbreak Anthem
"You choose to dim it. If I'm not around people like friends, families and lovers that are OK with the amount of light that I have then we're just not meant to be together and that's OK," she said. "But to dull yourself so you feel like somebody else can shine or so you feel like you're not in the way or whatever the situation is... that's not a healthy way to live."
She continued: "I felt limited. And I don't feel like that's the truth for all marriages, I just think that was my case. To say that's just his fault, that's my fault for allowing that to happen. That's my work as well. It could also be limiting because as in love as I was, I just wasn't ready. Maybe the other person wasn't either and you try to make it work but it doesn't."
Clarkson, who said she's "never experienced" a love that makes her feel more herself, is still "working through a lot of stuff," and is set to release her full upcoming 14-track album chemistry on June 23.
In addition to coming out with new music which reflects the heartbreak she has endured throughout the phases of the break-up, the "Since U Been Gone" artist has also previously shared several "red flags" related to the marriage and her ex.
Next: Kelly Clarkson Shares More 'Red Flags' After Divorce from Brandon Blackstock
