Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock’s marriage has come to an end after six years. ET confirmed that the 38-year-old singer filed for divorce from 43-year-old Blackstock in Los Angeles on June 4.
The pair have two children together, 5-year-old daughter River and 4-year-old son Remington. Blackstock is also father to an older daughter and son from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth.
The “Miss Independent” singer and Blackstock’s divorce news came as a shock to many. In an interview with ET last month, while talking about all they’ve been doing during quarantine, Clarkson called her husband her “partner in crime.”
“My husband is now a lighting technician and audio visual technician. He’s a director, and he’s also playing cowboy on our ranch. He’s got his hands full. We both definitely have our hands full,” she told ET. “Brandon and I are hustling, definitely, around the ranch, trying to make it happen. And I 100 percent, none of this would be happening without my partner in crime.”
As the two now begin to part ways, ET is taking a look back at their eight-year relationship and marriage.
The Beginning
The pair first met at the Country Music Awards in 2006, when Clarkson was performing a duet with Rascal Flatts. Blackstock, son of her former manager Narvel Blackstock (and former stepson of Reba McEntire), was the group’s manager at the time — and he was also married.
“We met years ago when I was working with Rascal Flatts,” Clarkson told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS FM radio show in October 2012. “I didn’t really know he was [my manager’s] son and it was kind of weird. I was like ‘Dude, I gotta know that guy.’ 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. When he became single, I was on the prowl.”
Reuniting Years Later
After Blackstock divorced Ashworth, his and Clarkson’s fateful reunion came at the Super Bowl in 2012, where Clarkson was performing the national anthem and Blake Shelton, whom Blackstock manages, was singing “America the Beautiful.” They then began dating.
“This isn’t a downer to anybody I dated before him, but I’m just going to be real: I never felt like, honesty, sexually attracted to anybody before him,” Clarkson said of Blackstock during a show in 2017. “And I’m not downing my exes. You know, everybody’s different. But there was something about him.”
“I honestly thought I was asexual — I’d never been turned on like that in my whole life,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Oh that’s that feeling… OK! That’s what they were talking about in Waiting to Exhale.’ I just got it. I just didn’t have a clue.”
Engaged
With Clarkson smitten with Blackstock, the two got engaged in December 2012. The original American Idol winner showed off her stunning yellow diamond engagement ring to her fans, writing, “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.”
Wedding Day
The two tied the knot on Oct. 20, 2013, at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, and Clarkson shared a gorgeous wedding video and photos with her fans.
“I’m officially Mrs. Blackstock :)” she gushed. “We got married yesterday at Blackberry Farms in TN, the most beautiful place ever!”
It’s a Girl!
Clarkson first shared that she was expecting her first child in November 2013. The “Since U Been Gone” songstress then announced the birth of her bundle of joy with Blackstock, a baby girl they named River Rose, on Twitter on June 14, 2014.
“Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes! Brandon and I are on cloud 9!! :)” she added.
Baby No. 2!
During an August 2015 concert in Los Angeles, Clarkson revealed that she was pregnant with her second baby. Breaking down in tears while singing “Piece by Piece,” she opened up to the audience about how she felt lucky to have a loving, supportive husband.
“Not everybody is born with a great dad or a great role model,” she said, before praising Blackstock. “I married such a great lover.”
“I was not planning on announcing this. I’m totally pregnant again,” Clarkson then revealed.
Clarkson became a mother of two on April 12, confirming the news herself later in the week.
“Our little baby boy has arrived!! Remington Alexander Blackstock was born 4/12/16 & he is healthy & we couldn’t be happier or more in love!” Clarkson tweeted.
Feeling the Love
During an interview with ET in September 2017, while promoting her album Meaning of Life, Clarkson revealed that her hubby inspired her new music and makes her feel confident.
“He makes me feel so sexy,” she confessed. “I already am a confident woman — I don’t think that’s a secret. But I love being with somebody who is unafraid of making you feel sexy.”
“I always make fun of him, like, ‘Why are you touching my behind in public?'” she explained. “He’ll like, goose me or something, somewhere, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing?!’ But I really like it.”
Busy Schedules…
In October 2017, Clarkson admitted to ET that their busy schedules have gotten in the way of them spending time together.
“We have forgotten two out of four of our anniversaries,” she shared. “But the great thing about us is we collectively do it. It’s not like one of us forgets and one of us remembers. We both epically fail. We’re always very busy. The only times we’ve remembered our anniversary is when we had [it] off. If we’re working, we forget what day it is.”
…But Healthy Sex Life
In a 2017 interview with Redbook, Clarkson said she and Blackstock are “a lot more active than other couples.”
“I’m a person who loves change. He loves spontaneity. Having a set time or place [to have sex] would be boring to us,” she told the magazine. “When I met Brandon, I wasn’t looking for a friend. I have a lot of great friends! I was looking for a lover…I had never found someone I was truly passionate about, who I wanted to stay in bed with all day. The fact that I did, well… I was going to latch on and take advantage of that.”
Last December, Clarkson got candid about her and her husband’s sex life during her talk show. During an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Voice singer Brynn Cartelli asked her what she does before bed each night, and Clarkson was as candid as ever.
“Well, Brynn, I was single for many years, so,” she replied with a laugh. “I have children, and how one makes children is generally what I do before bed — that’s not a lie.”
Birthday Love
All seemed to be going great for the happy couple in April when Clarkson tweeted that she bawled over a sweet birthday video Blackstock filmed for her.
“Happy birthday, baby,” Blackstock says in the video. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
Divorce
ET confirmed that the singer filed for divorce on June 4, with Clarkson citing irreconcilable differences in her divorce filing. According to court documents obtained by ET, she listed the separation date as “TBD” and asked for joint legal and physical custody of River and Remington.
Clarkson also asked the court to terminate the ability to award spousal support to Blackstock. She is asking the court enforce their premarital agreement and that both parties cover their own attorney’s fees. She’s also asking that her last name legally be restored to Clarkson, after taking Blackstock’s last name. Property and asset division are unknown at this time and will be determined at a later date.
What Went Wrong?
A source tells ET that the couple “decided to call it quits after realizing the relationship hasn’t been working for a while.”
“Kelly and Brandon work together nonstop, and that became a contention in their relationship. Brandon is the EP of her show as well as her manager. Also, Kelly has always brought up wanting more children, which Brandon doesn’t,” the source adds.
Another source close to Clarkson’s show production tells ET that many on staff were “in the dark” about her divorce. “Everyone loves Brandon,” the source says. “He’s an integral part of the show. Everything is run by him and he’s a hands-on decision maker, not just Kelly’s husband-manager.”
Clarkson’s show remains in production remotely, doing Zoom interviews through June 24. There’s no word on whether Brandon will stay on as an executive producer of the talk show.
