Kelly Clarkson Spotted for the First Time in New Photos Since Filing for Divorce From Brandon Blackstock

Just days after news broke of Kelly Clarkson filing for divorce from her husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock, the American Idol winner was spotted in exclusive photos from U.K. news agency, The Daily Mail putting on a “brave face.” The two have reportedly had “problems for several months” now before filing earlier this month. These issues were only made worse by their coronavirus-related quarantine as she shot her daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, from their Montana home.

According to a source speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Clarkson and Blackstock had been “making a conscious effort to work things out” and hoped “quarantining away from California in Montana would help them work things out in their marriage.” However, the opposite turned out to be true as reports also surfaced that the two have been “fighting” all the time. In the first photos, the 38-year-old is seen walking her dog, Henry, on what was also her daughter, River Rose’s sixth birthday. Wearing a pair of spotted blue, spaghetti strap overalls over an army green top, Clarkson also sported a pair of gold square aviator sunglasses and white velcro sandals.

On Wednesday, reports surfaced and were confirmed by ET that the three-time Grammy award winner had cited “irreconcilable differences” in court documents, requesting joint legal and physical custody of the two children she shares with Blackstock, including their son, 4-year-old, Remington Alexander. According to court documents, Clarkson filed for divorce in Los Angeles court on June 4. Last month, the pair were noted to have listed their $10 million custom-built Los Angeles home on the market — and just months before their Tennessee mansion went on sale.

The Voice coach and Blackstock married in 2013 after they began first dating in 2011, after Blackstock’s first divorce from ex-wife Melissa Ashworth of whom he shares two children, daughter Savannah and son, Seth. The step-mom position was something Clarkson told Ryan Seacrest she was enjoying, admitting in a past interview, “I actually really dig the mom thing.” The union of the two families not only brought them all together but expanded shortly after Clarkson’s wedding to Blackstock in October 2013. The couple welcomed their first-born, River Rose in June 2014, and the son Remington — also known as Remy — arrived in April 2016. The divorce has reportedly also stunned the couple’s fans, who some have been sourced as admitting it was out of the blue.

Clarkson opened up about her marriage to Blackstock to Redbook in 2017, admitting that while she would rather keep it, “family-appropriate,” she and her husband were “a lot more active” than some of the other candid couples. “I’m a person who loves change. He loves spontaneity. Having a set time or place [to have sex] would be boring to us,” she said. In addition to the couple’s romance, Clarkson said that when she first met him, she wasn’t looking for a friend, but rather a lover. “I had never found someone I was truly passionate about, who I wanted to stay in bed with all day. The fact that I did, well […] I was going to latch on and take advantage of that.”