Rising Star
Kelly Clarkson felt that she made the right choice going out with Brandon Blackstock -- she fell in love and thought it would last. They got married and started a family with two children. They seemed inseparable, it was something everyone respected.
When Clarkson admitted that she started the process of divorce with her husband in 2020, everyone was so surprised. What could have gone wrong?
Star From American Idol
Kelly Clarkson gained a lot of fame through winning American Idol back in the first season. The singer was only 20 when she won and she's been a name everyone knows ever since.
RCA records approached Clarkson after the contest and she quickly signed up with them. After this opportunity, she became one of the most successful pop singers in the country. Her career peaked in 2005 when Since U Been Gone reached #2.
Instant love
Clarkson felt she was unlucky when it came to dating. But that all changed when she met Blackstock. What was their first encounter like? Was there instant love?
She admitted to Ryan Seacrest on his radio show that she had feelings for him from the beginning. "We were just in a room together, and then he came up and said he was from the same hometown as me, and I was like 'Oh, we're so getting married'. I was so that girl".
Fate
You're likely curious about how they met? Clarkson is a successful singer and Blackstock is a talent manager. This means they worked in the same industry, but that's not the only coincidence.
Blake Shelton is a client of Blackstock and was Clarkson's judge on The Voice. So it was fate that they were going to end up bumping into each other. They finally did in 2006 at the AMC Awards.
Not The Right Time
It wasn't the right time for Clarkson though, Blackstock was a married man at the time. Blackstock and Clarkson weren't fated to be just yet.
Even with him being married, Clarkson still thought about them together. She told People magazine in 2013, ”I’d go on dates and be like ‘Man, I didn’t get that feeling I got that one time with Brandon”.
Matchmaker
Although the two met at the AMC awards in 2006, the reason they would get together, in the end, would all be because of Blackstock's Father - Narvel Blackstock.
Like father like son, Narvel was also a talent manager. He made the two meet again in 2012 before Clarkson was about to sing at the Super Bowl. What a good wingman, dad!
They Started Flirting
When they met for the second time at the Super Bowl, Blackstock's marriage was over and he was divorced. The two had a connection and started to date within the year.
Kelly admitted to E! News: "My Super Bowl performance, that was, like, our first time we started flirting. And I was like, 'I'm so into you, make out with me!".
Family Talent For Music
The relationship Clarkson and Blackstock had felt like fate. Because of Blackstock's job he could work for Clarkson without any hitches. But there are even more coincidences at play.
Brandon's father had married Reba McEntire, also a singer! So Clarkson's new stepmother-in-law would share a lot in common with her. Music was a big part of this family.
Wedding Bells
Blackstock decided to propose to Clarkson 10 months into their relationship and their engagement became public in 2012. In 2013, they sealed the deal and threw a wedding party at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.
After a while, they had River Rose and Remington Alexander, two beautiful children. And with Blackstock's Children Savanah and Seth from a divorce, they became a big family.
Kelly Respected Brandon's Work Ethic
Other than Blackstock's looks, Kelly's had a few things that she really respected about the actor. She always made it clear that she had admiration for him. Here's the reason why.
Most people know about the work Clarkson puts into her career, which is why she made it. She told Daily Mail that in her opinion, her husband worked even harder than she did. This is what she really admired about him.
Their Demanding Careers Helped Their Relationship
Being in a loving, committed relationship is always a challenge for major stars, especially considering that such busy schedules may put a strain on a marriage. However, this was never the case for Clarkson and Blackstock.
In fact, Clarkson has always felt that their demanding careers actually helped their relationship. “[He] doesn't get in a mood if I can't always call when I say I will”, she once said.
An Extravagant Hobby
Clarkson also cherished the fact that they always had so much fun together and she always highlighted that Blackstock was an interesting and even extravagant person. But what was so extravagant about him? Well, here's an example!
It's common for stars to have some pretty extravagant interests, and Blackstock is no exception to the rule, as he took a liking to planes! After flying planes for a few years, he bought his first aircraft in 2018.
She Got Over Her Fear Of Flying
When Blackstock first began learning how to fly, Clarkson was terrified, as she had always been afraid o boarding a plane. However, she has always acknowledged the fact that Blackstock helped her get over her fear of flying.
She’ll never forget the first day she flew on a jet with her then-husband. “The first 15 minutes I was like, 'I'm never doing this again!' I had a Vulcan death grip on this joystick-looking thing”, she told People in 2013.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
For many years, Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock were one of America's top power couples and they represented legit relationship goals.
But nothing gold can stay, and in June 11, 2020, Clarkson admitted that she and Blackstock were getting divorced after nearly 7 years of marriage. But what happened?
Speculations
Many fans speculate on the fact that their equally successful careers overshadowed their romance. This does sound like a feasible possibility, but was this really the case?
It’s really not that clear, but one thing’s for sure: during their time together, Clarkson definitely reached the peak of her career and Blackstock excelled at being a talent agent. Blackstock even became her wife's agent and they never had any major conflicts working together. What went wrong, then?
The Reason Behind The Divorce
Clarkson’s imminent divorce could have been related to the fact that the singer wanted to expand her family. This may sound confusing, because when she was asked whether they were looking to having more children back in October 2016, she said: "No. I had miserable pregnancies, that's why".
In fact, Clarkson and Blackstock underwent medical procedures to prevent any future pregnancies, which she confessed during her guest appearance on WKTU's Cubby and Carolina in September 2017. So when did the artist change her mind?
Baby Fever
As the years went by, things started to change. “I so want another child, and my husband is like “Nooo, we have four!”, she told Gordon Ramsey on an interview for the Kelly Clarkson Show in 2019.
That same year, the famous singer said: "You get baby fever when you see them and you're like, 'Oh, I miss the chubby little legs and the little face". At one point, two kids weren't enough for her!
Filing For Divorce
Kelly Clarkson is now on her way to becoming the "Miss Independent" that she sang about back in 2003. She filed for divorce on June 4, 2020 in Los Angeles and the divorce is classified as a "dissolution with minor children".
The news came as a shock to fans, especially considering that Blackstock had made a loving video for Clarkson's talk show to celebrate her birthday in April that year. That was less than two months before the divorce!
They Spent Quarantine Together
Also, the couple had recently purchased a beautiful family ranch in Montana a year before. In fact, this was the place where they were spending their coronavirus lockdown.
"It's a really beautiful ranch and it's a nice getaway for our family. It's something Brandon and I have dreamed about since we were both kids", Clarkson said a few months before the divorce. She even shot a few episodes of The Kelly Clarkson Show from that home.
Secrets Untold
The bottom line is that they haven't revealed any further details about their breakup. In May 2020, the couple listed their LA mansion, and in December 2019, Forbes reported that Clarkson slashed the selling price of her Tennessee house by more than $1 million.
But even a talk show host who found fame on a TV reality show can like her privacy. She filed for divorce on the grounds of "irreconciliable differences", according to documents obtained by CNN.
She Doesn't Regret It
Despite their differences, Clarkson doesn't regret all those years they spent together, and much less having started their own family. She doesn't regret having hired him as her manager either.
“I wouldn't have hired Brandon to be my manager if I didn't see firsthand how great he is at that and how much he cares about Blake [Shelton]”, she told Today a few months after her divorce. So even though their love story is over, there's no hard feelings between them.