American Idol Star
Kelly Clarkson made a name of herself after winning the first season of the iconic singing contest American Idol in 2002. She was only 20 years old at the time, and both her career and her fame have rocketed ever since then.
Shortly after winning the contest, Clarkson signed a record deal with RCA Records and went on to become one of the greatest pop singers of the country. She reached the peak of her career in 2005, when her hit song Since U Been Gone peaked at #2.
Love At First Sight
Kelly Clarkson had never had too much luck relationship-wise, but this started to change the day she met Brandon Blackstock. But what was that moment like? Was it really love at first sight?
Clarkson fell for him from the start. As she once told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show in 2012: > "We were justin 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".
Coincidences
You're probably wondering how they met, right? Well, here's the deal. While Clarkson is a famous singer and songwriter, Blackstock is a famous talent manager, so they both run in the same entertainment industry. But this is not the only coincidence!
It so happens to be that one of Blackstock’s clients is Blake Shelton, who was Clarkson’s judge in The Voice. Clearly, it was only a matter of time before both of them met, and this finally happened at the AMC Awards in 2006.
Bad Timing
Unfortunately for Clarkson, Blackstock was still married to another woman at that time, so it wasn't meant to be. At least, not yet!
However, that didn’t stop Clarkson from thinking about him all the time. As she once admitted to People in 2013, ”I’d go on dates and be like ‘Man, I didn’t get that feeling I got that one time with Brandon”.
The Real Cupid
But even though Clarkson and Blackstock met at a music event in 2006, it was all thanks to Brandon's father, Narvel Bradstock, that they finally began dating.
Just like his son, Narvel Blackstock is also a talent agent, and he re-introduced Clarkson to his son in 2012 just when she was preparing to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Well played, dad!
The Day They Flirted
By the time they crossed paths on the day of the Super Bowl, Blackstock was already divorced. The couple totally hit it off and they began dating later that year.
> "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!", Kelly told E! News.
Music Ran Through The Family's Veins
Clarkson's and Blackstock's relationship really seemed meant to be. As we've said, Blackstock was the agent of famous music stars, meaning that he could easily start working for his new girlfriend. However, there's another crazy coincidence we forgot to mention.
At that time, Brandon's father, Narvel, was married to singer and actress Reba McEntire. This meant that she was Brandon’s step-mom and would now become Kelly’s stepmother-in-law. Music definitely ran in that family’s veins!
The Sound Of Wedding Bells
After 10 months of dating, Brandon proposed to Kelly and they finally announced their engagement in 2012. The couple got married in 2013 and they threw an amazing party at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.
Eventually, the couple had two children: River Rose and Remington Alexander. Blackstock already had 2 other children from his previous marriage – Savanah and Seth –, making them a family of 6!
She Admired His Work Ethics
You're probably asking yourselves what Kelly Clarkson liked the most about Blackstock, other than his good looks, of course! Well, the famous singer always acknowledged the fact that she admired Blackstock, and here's why.
It’s a widely known fact that Clarkson is an extremely hardworking star, which is why she made it so far. However, in an interview by the Daily Mail, Clarkson admitted that she felt Blackstock worked even more “crazy-hard” than she did and that's one of the reasons why she looked up to 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.