Kelly Clarkson Gives Update on Her Dating Life Following Divorce

Kelly Clarkson has given fans an update on her dating life following her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. The singer-turned-daytime talk show host sat down with the Today show for a conversation about her forthcoming new album. “I waited until I was through [the divorce], so now it’s a different chapter for me,” she shared. “I had to wait in order to put this out so I could have interviews and, just honestly, I wouldn’t be crying in all of them.”

The former American Idol champion then opened up about moving her talk show — The Kelly Clarkson Show — from Los Angeles to New York City, explaining, “I think COVID pointed out a lot of things. A lot of us didn’t make it relationship-wise. Also it just proved I’ve never really liked living in LA… I never wanted to live there in the first place. It also has pointed out, especially getting divorced, it was just me and my kids all the way on that coast. All my family lives this coast. So it just got lonely.” Finally, Clarkson addressed her dating life, confessing that she is in no hurry for romance again just yet. “I’m not in a bitter place. I love love,” she said. “I’m not closed off, but I’m just not looking at all, either.”

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Clarkson and Blackstock reportedly first met in 2006, while he was married to Melissa Ashworth. Blackstock shares two children with Ashworth: 18-year-old daughter Savannah and 13-year-old son Seth. The pair divorced in 2012, the same year he began dating and became engaged to Clarkson. They married in 2013 and share two children: a 9-year-old daughter named River and a 7-year-old son named Remington. Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020, with the divorce being finalized in August 2021.

The former couple’s divorce played out publicly, with many details emerging over the course of several months. In March 2022, it was reported that the divorce had been settled, with a Clarkson having to pay spousal support to Blackstock. According to People, the former American Idol champ was expected to give Blackstock a one-time payment of $1.2 million, as well as monthly payments of $115,000 in spousal support until January 2024. Additionally, she will make monthly child support payments of $45,601 for their two children. The child support payments are said to have begun on Feb. 1, 2022. The couple also agreed to share custody of their children.