Living, loving and learning. Kelly Clarkson revealed the positive way she is coping with her unexpected year amid her split from estranged husband Brandon Blackstock.
The singer, 38, filled in the blank to “I’m grateful in 2020 for the lesson I learned about” with the answer “myself” on the Tuesday, November 24, episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. She then alluded to her growth during the breakdown of her marriage.
“Even at 38, I feel like I’m always changing and progressing in a good sense, in a good way. And I always want to make sure I’m being the best version of myself,” she explained. “My mom has been telling me since I was a kid: ‘You are who you surround yourself with.’ 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?”
Clarkson then hinted at removing people from her life. “People, like, could be bad for you in a certain time. And I think that everybody just goes, ‘Oh, well that means they’re bad.’ Well, it doesn’t necessarily mean that. It just means that you’re on different paths. And I think that that’s OK,” she noted. “Everybody’s on a different learning curve.”
The Grammy winner married Blackstock, 43, in October 2013. The estranged couple share daughter River, 6, and son Remington, 4. Clarkson filed for divorce in June.
“They clashed on many levels, and being in quarantine together [amid the coronavirus pandemic] heightened their problems to the point of no return,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly after their separation. “So she filed for divorce.”
The insider added that the pair “definitely didn’t” have a “perfect marriage,” despite appearances. “Brandon’s very laid-back, whereas Kelly’s pretty high-strung.”
Clarkson got real about the repercussions of the split in September. “You can ask anyone who’s gone through a divorce, I don’t think anyone expects it,” she said on Today. “You see yourself growing old with someone and then life has a different path. It’s so hard on everyone, and you know me, I’m really open. I try to be open and share. … It’s just a tricky thing to navigate.”
News broke in September that Blackstock’s father Narvel Blackstock‘s company, Starstruck, filed a lawsuit against the talk show host claiming that she owes $1.4 million in unpaid commissions. She then countersued her former management company for allegedly violating the California Labor Code by “procuring, offering, promising or attempting to procure employment or engagements” without being properly licensed.
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