Kelly Clarkson’s Heartbreaking ‘The Voice’ Confession

Kelly Clarkson is one of the most beloved alumni coaches from The Voice, but the singer-turned-talk-show-host previously shared a heartbreaking confession about her time on the hit singing competition show. 

During a conversation with USA Today, Clarkson revealed that she was “struggling” during her time as a coach on the singing competition series, and addressed her choice to move away from Los Angeles — taking her talk show with her — which is where The Voice is filmed.

“I’ll be real honest: I thought I was making a horrible decision,” Clarkson confessed of making the decision to move to New York. “I knew I needed a fresh start and couldn’t be in L.A. I really wanted to be in Montana, but you can’t really do a show from there quite yet. So I was like, ‘The only other option would probably be New York.’” 

She then added, “Full disclosure, I put on a smile a lot of those times because I was struggling a lot in my personal life. I’ve learned a lot about what I’m capable of handling, and also what you should not handle. That was me saying ‘bye’ to The Voice and having this big move.”  

Clarkson originally served as a coach on The Voice from Season 14 through Season 21, later returning for Season 23. During her time, she worked closely alongside her fellow coaches, such as Blake Shelton, John Legend, Nick Jonas, Gwen Stefani and Ariana Grande. “I love that family, but I was like, ‘I’m struggling. I can’t smile anymore. I don’t feel like smiling,’” she said of choosing to exit the show.