Kelly Clarkson Opens up About ‘Emotional Roller Coaster’ Amid Brandon Blackstock Divorce

Kelly Clarkson was riding an “emotional roller coaster” before splitting from Brandon Blackstock, her husband of nearly seven years. In an interview with Glamour published shortly after Clarkson’s June 4 divorce filing, but conducted ahead of the news breaking, the American Idol alum opened up about her life in quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic, something that other sources have credited to the mom-of-two realizing that divorce was the only step she could take in her relationship.

Opening up about being a working mom in lockdown, Clarkson, who is set to return to The Voice for Season 19, admitted that she had “been on an emotional roller coaster” as of late and that “this has been really hard as a working parent, because I’m still doing all the same jobs.” Clarkson said that recent weeks had been “exhausting,” as she was “cooking every meal and cleaning nonstop” as she cared for 5-year-old daughter River Rose and 4-year-old son Remington Alexander, as well as Blackstock’s teenage children from a previous relationship. Clarkson admitted that lockdown made her come face to face with the pressure that is “on you to be this ‘amazing’ stay at home mom, whilst being a working mom.”

In the interview, Clarkson also opened up about abandonment issues and dealing with what life throws at you, telling Glamour that “there are always things that happen that come up that bum you out, but at the same time you’ve got to recognize at some point though, that it’s made you who you are.” She added that “you just take your cards you’re dealt, and you do the best you can with them.”

Although Clarkson did not mention Blackstock in the interview, it was published just days after news broke that she had filed for divorce. Clarkson had filed divorce papers in Los Angeles on June 4, citing “irreconcilable differences,” after allegedly coming to the realization that “she just needed to follow her heart and finally realized divorce was her only option.” The couple, who married in October 2013, “had been having problems for several months,” according to sources. They had hoped that “quarantining away from L.A. in Montana would help them work things out in their marriage,” though the “constant time together” strained their relationship further and made things “worse.”

At this time, neither Clarkson nor Blackstock have broken their silence on the divorce proceedings. In her court documents, Clarkson did not reveal the official date of their separation, instead writing, “TBD.”