Still healing. Kelly Clarkson called her divorce from Brandon Blackstock a “dumpster” in her first interview about her split since she and Blackstock separated in June. In an interview on Sunday Today With Willie Geist on Sunday, September 13, Clarkson opened up for the first time about her divorce and why it’s been the “worst thing ever” for her.
“I mean, it’s no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster,” the American Idol alum said. “Personally, it’s been a little hard the last couple months.”
She continued, “I’ve been talking to friends that have been through divorce. I don’t know how people go through that without having some kind of outlet because it is the worst thing ever for everyone involved.”
Though Clarkson didn’t name the friends she’s been talking about her divorce with, a source told Us Weekly in June that Clarkson’s follow Voice coach, Blake Shelton (who divorced from his ex-wife Miranda Lambert in 2016), has been supporting her amid her separation. “Blake has been supportive and the friend she has needed, as always,” the insider said. “Blake and Kelly often joke they are siblings.”
Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June after almost seven years of marriage together. The couple share two children: daughter River, 6, and son Remington, 4. Blackstock, a music manager, is also the father of daughter Savannah, 18, and son Seth, 13, from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth.
In her recent interview with Willie Geist, the “Since U Been Gone” singer also confirmed that her split has inspired her next album. “This next record, this will probably be the most personal one I’ve ever released,” she said. “The whole record is basically every emotion you experience from the beginning of a relationship to the end of what it is now or where it is now. It’s been very therapeutic for me. It’s very honest.”
Though it’s unclear why Clarkson and Blackstock divorced (she cited “irreconcilable differences” in her divorce docs), a source told Entertainment Tonight in June that the couple’s quarantine experience played a part in their split.
“Kelly and Brandon had been having problems for several months and were making a conscious effort to work things out,” the source said. “They both hoped quarantining away from L.A. in Montana would help them work things out in their marriage, but instead the change in environment was actually detrimental.”