Kelly Clarkson Reveals She ‘Almost Cried’ on First Mother’s Day After Divorce

Kelly Clarkson is opening up about how she spent her first Mother’s Day after finalizing her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock back in March. The Kelly Clarkson Show host, 40, revealed she received a gift from her nanny that almost brought her to tears in an interview with Extra at Monday’s finale of the American Song Contest.

“I’m a single mom, right? So, I’m either at work or with kids,” said The Voice coach, who shares daughter River, 7, and son Remington, 6, with her ex-husband. So when it came to Sunday’s holiday, Clarkson wasn’t expecting to do much — that is until her nanny came through with the gift of time. “So my nanny – I literally almost cried – like, she walked into the kitchen and was like, ‘Hey, for Mother’s Day, I’m going to give you the gift of time and you can just do whatever you want,’” Clarkson recalled. “I almost broke down, I was like, ‘What?!’”

The American Idol alum was accompanied in the interview by her American Song Contest co-host, Snoop Dogg, who noted, “No one understands how important time is.” Clarkson agreed, “I had the best day, and it was amazing.” Clarkson was declared legally single in September 2021 after filing for divorce after seven years of marriage. 

Her split from Blackstock has had some legal ups and downs, but in March, the “Miss Independent” singer and music manager finalized their divorce. In the split, the exes agreed that Clarkson would have primary custody of their kids, with Blackstock seeing them one weekend a month. Clarkson was also ordered to pay her ex-husband a one-time amount of $1.3 million in addition to $45,600 in monthly child support and $115,000 per month in spousal support until 2024.

In December 2021, Clarkson revealed that while she regrets “nothing” in her previous marriage, she’s not looking to jump back into dating just yet. “It’s one of those things you didn’t expect or anything, but at the same time, I’ve already had people be like, ‘Let me know when you’re wanting to date,’” Clarkson said on the Love Someone With Delilah podcast. “It’s like, you know what, I don’t think you have to have someone with you all the time. I really do enjoy my work, my kids, my creative self. Sometimes I got stifled in relationships. It’s hard to be as creative as I can because sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

Despite that hesitance, Clarkson said she’s open to love, but not marriage. “Maybe in the future, you never know. Well, I do know I won’t get married again. But I just mean, you never know about love,” she shared. “It’s one of those things where we’re engineered – especially from where I’m from – to have to have that. And I don’t have that need.”