When Kelly Clarkson fell in love with Brandon Blackstock, it was easy to be happy for her because she was a bundle of sunshine and rainbows in every interview she gave. You just wanted to bottle her sappy lovestruck moment and hope that she stayed in a bubble of joy forever.
“We are totally going to get married,” she gushed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2012. “We love each other. We are totally going to get married one day. No, he has two children and I’m new… You know you want to like… I mean he’s got to put it a ring at some point.” Blackstock certainly did put a ring on it just weeks later and the two forged ahead with their relationship at lightning speed — marriage, baby, another baby, huge careers.
It’s hard to say where the marriage took a wrong turn exactly, but the talk show host gave us a little insight into why the marriage went south. “My mom has been telling me since I was a kid: You are who you surround yourself with,” she said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in late 2020. “You want to make sure you’re surrounded by people that also want to be the best versions of themselves and also want a good common goal for everyone, not just themselves, right?”
Of course, that was all before things got really difficult with the legal aspects of their divorce with Blackstock challenging their ironclad prenuptial agreement. But if there’s one thing we know, the pop star is “stronger” for falling in love and creating a beautiful family — and there’s very little that’s going to stop her even when she’s down. Learn more about her relationship timeline with her ex — and the exciting things ahead for her in the future (like that stunning new estate).
The Single Life (Pre-2012)
Before Kelly Clarkson met Brandon Blackstock, she kept her dating life casual. It was a series of short-lived romances that mostly stayed out of the press — from her American Idol co-star, Justin Guarini, to singers Ryan Key and Graham Colton. She did address her situation with Guarini years later on Watch What Happens Live, and it just feels like it was nothing more than a cute fling in her young adult life.
“We didn’t date during Idol which, everybody thought, but we did date during… I feel like we weren’t dating during [From Justin to Kelly] but I feel like maybe we did,” she coyly revealed. “We did date a little bit. I think any two people who are thrown together that much would [date]. Guy, girl, just saying — “Timeless,” put that song on From Justin to Kelly — you can’t fight it!”
Dating (2011 or 2012)
Kelly Clarkson didn’t begin dating Brandon Blackstock for years after their first meeting in 2006 because he was married. But they stayed in each other’s orbit because the American Idol star’s career was managed by his father, Narvel Blackstock. Now, depending on who you talk to, they either began dating in late 2011 or early 2012 — the timeline seems to have changed over the years to coincide with Brandon’s official divorce date from first wife Melissa Ashworth in 2012. The on-the-record story has them becoming reacquainted at the 2012 Super Bowl, where she sang the National Anthem, and both of them were single.
It was love at first sight for the duo and they became inseparable right away. Clarkson could help gushing to the world that she was in love, but the angsty songwriting went completely out the window.
“It is killing me. I’m trying to write a tough song and it is coming out like butterflies and rainbows,” she told People. “It is ruining my creativity. I’m writing all this happy [stuff]. People are going to be, like, ‘What the hell happened to you?’ It has been really difficult. I love it. It’s an awesome problem to have.”
Engagement (December 2012)
Their relationship was on fast forward in 2012 and Brandon Blackstock wasted no time in asking the “Stronger” singer to be his wife. Kelly Clarkson tweeted out the cutest announcement to share the news with all of her followers.
“I’M ENGAGED!!!!! I wanted y’all to know!! Happiest night of my life last night! I am so lucky and am with the greatest man ever :),” she wrote. She also shared a photo of her gorgeous engagement ring on WhoSay (remember that app?), “It’s a yellow canary diamond with diamonds around.”
Wedding (2013)
The Clarkson-Blackstock wedding started out as a huge event with country music pal Blake Shelton officiating the wedding, but the couple put the brakes on the over-the-top affair. “We just got overwhelmed by it — all the decisions,” she explained. “We sent out a save-the-date to everyone, and then it got crazy and all the details were leaking.”
Their Plan B wedding went off without a hitch as it was just the two of them, an officiant and Blackstock’s two kids from his first marriage, daughter Savannah, and son Seth. “I’m officially Mrs. Blackstock,” she announced via Twitter. “We got married yesterday at Blackberry Farms in TN, the most beautiful place ever!” She shared a video (see it here) of their beautiful fall ceremony and they looked so happy and in love.
First Pregnancy (November 2013)
Just one month after their wedding, Kelly Clarkson shared the exciting news that she was expecting her first child with her new hubby. “I’m pregnant!!! Brandon and I are so excited! Best early Christmas present ever,” she tweeted, via Celebitchy. The news came as no surprise to anyone because she had been shouting from the rooftops her wish to get pregnant before the holiday season — and having great stepkids had a lot to do with those baby urges.
“I want a little baby with little feet and I just want to bite them,” she told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, via Celebitchy. “They’re so great. I never wanted kids before, but now I want, like, five.”
Cheating Claims (December 2013)
By early December, just two months after they married, the couple was plagued with cheating rumors after a tabloid website posted claims about Blackstock stepping out on his new wife. “‘We haven’t slept together, but we’ve been intimate in other ways,” an anonymous source told The Dirty, via the Daily Mail.
Clarkson even defended her new husband on Twitter, writing, “Keep hearing random rumors of me & Brandon splitting or that’s he’s cheating on me. Stop with all the lying please #aintnobodygottimeforthat.” Nothing concrete ever came from those rumors, so the couple continued on in their marital bliss.
Growing Family (2014, 2016)
Clarkson’s first child, daughter River Rose, was born in 2014, and son Remington Alexander followed in 2016. “I sound like such a tool, but becoming a mother has made me next-level confident,” The Voice star told Good Housekeeping. “I’ve never felt more empowered. I feel like my 20s were spent walking on eggshells making sure everyone felt loved and not really expressing my opinion.”
Even though motherhood was a dream for her, she was ready to be done with having children, so she asked (OK, demanded) Blackstock to get a vasectomy. “I was literally pregnant with Remi, and I was like, ‘You are getting fixed. This will never happen to me again,’” Clarkson revealed on The Jenny McCarthy Show, via People. “If something happens, it’s a miracle of God. I literally told my OBGYN on the table while open, ‘If I get pregnant again, I will find you!’”
Superstardom (2018)
Kelly Clarkson has been famous since she won the inaugural season of American Idol, but her fame still hovered on the B-list in Hollywood. The game-changer for her was joining The Voice as a coach in 2018. She sat alongside Adam Levine and Alicia Keys, but it was her witty banter with Blake Shelton that had everyone in stitches. American fell in love with her all over again.
One year later, she launched her own daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, which put her sparkling personality on full display (and got her a Daytime Emmy) — and suddenly she was everywhere as she shot to A-list TV stardom. But it was her time at home with her husband and kids that mattered the most to her despite her next-level fame. “We both love what we do, but we’re really good about checking out whenever we make it home from work,” she explained to Parade. They spend time together every night after putting their kids to bed. “Sometimes we’ll go out or we’ll just listen to music.”
Divorce (June 2020)
After quarantining together in Clarkson’s Montana ranch (yes, she holds the deed to the property), the couple shockingly announced their divorce in June 2020 citing “irreconcilable differences.” But where do we begin in this messy split? Blackstock challenged their prenuptial agreement, which was held up by a judge in court, so the “Miss Independent” singer gets to keep the Montana ranch he had been fighting to keep. There’s still the thorny legal issue involving her father-in-law, who used to manage her along with her ex, regarding entertainment commissions — and she countersued for alleged violations of California labor codes. Phew!
Yet there are still tender hearts to deal with, which Clarkson revealed on her daytime show in her interview with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who gave her wise advice. “My mother always said to me, ‘Things are going to look better tomorrow,’” the first lady told the daytime talk show host. “‘And if you can take one day at a time, and things will get better.’”
Clarkson isn’t dating just yet, but we can’t wait to see who might open her mind (and heart) to a relationship again.
The Future (2021)
Aside from the final financial details to be worked out by the court, Clarkson has already been declared legally single. And she’s already moving ahead with her new single, complete with shady lyrics, “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You).” She also sold their marital home in Encino and is getting a fresh start in her new Toluca Lake, California estate with their two kids. And the best part is she is leading the way with an optimistic outlook, according to a Hollywood Life source, “She has so much going on in her life that she doesn’t have time to stop and dwell on things; she’s always focused on the positive.”
Learning to “Un-Love” (2022)
In a candid conversation with guest Khloé Kardashian on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson said she was curious how the reality star learned to “un-love” Tristan Thompson after his multiple betrayals. Clarkson laughed, “How’d you do that? Asking for a friend.”
Clarkson then shared how she’s felt in her post-split life. “It’s hard. I think it’s the most ridiculous thing sometimes when something doesn’t work out and you’re in a relationship and you’re so deeply in love — and people are like ‘Oh yeah, why can’t you [move on],'” Clarkson said. “I’m like, I think I might always love that person, I don’t know if it goes away.”
Tackling Co-Parenting (2023)
Clarkson got candid about the impact that the divorce has had on their two children. “I literally ask my kids every night when we’re snuggling, ‘Are you happy? And if you’re not, what could make you happier?'” the talk show host recounted during an episode of The Angie Martinez IRL podcast, perE! Online. “Sometimes they’ll say, especially the past two years, and it kills me and I want them to be honest, so I don’t ever say, ‘Oh god, don’t tell me that,’ but a lot of times it would be like, ‘You know, I’m just really sad. I wish mommy and daddy were in the same house.'”
Clarkson went on to explain exactly how she handles that difficult conversation. “I just sit there and I’m like, ‘I get it. I’m from a divorced family as well. I get it. That sucks. But we’re going to work it out. And you are so loved by both of us,'” Clarkson explained. “I think communicating with them and not treating them—not treating them like an adult, because they’re not—but not treating them like a child. They’re not small feelings. Those are huge feelings, and those are huge emotions.”
A Telling Verse Change (2023)
During her rendition of the song “ABCDEFU” by GAYLE during her show’s iconic Kellyoke segment on March 30, Clarkson gave a telling spin on the original lyrics that clearly pointed to Blackstock. “F you and your dad and the fact that you got half / and my broken heart / turn that s*** into art,” she sang, referencing her contentious divorce settlement.
Releasing Her Album’s First Singles (2023)
On April 14, Clarkson released the first two singles, “mine” and “me,” from her upcoming emotional album Chemistry.
In “mine,” the lyrics suggest Clarkson sings about being heartbroken and not realizing the problems in the relationship before it was too late. “You know I question every motive, everything you say / Thought with you maybe my heart wasn’t meant to break / Can’t believe I let you in, I can’t believe I stayed / As long as I stayed,” Clarkson sings.
In the chorus, Clarkson wishes for some karmic retribution so that her ex one day feels the same way she does. She sings, “I hope one day someone will take your heart and hold it tight / Make you feel like you’re invincible deep inside / And right when you think that you’ll try again, they cross a line / And steal your shine like you did mine.”
In her second single, “me,” Clarkson is feeling strong and powerful while she looks back at the relationship that once was. “I don’t need somebody to hold me / Don’t need somebody to love me / Don’t need somebody to pick these pieces up / I put together my broken / Let go of the pain I’vе been holdin’ / Don’t need to need somebody / When I got me.” Talk about telling lyrics
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