From what we know about Kelly Clarkson's contentious divorce from Brandon Blackstock, not a moment of it was easy — including when she finally found out that it was over. In fact, Kelly had to go on stage and perform "I Will Always Love You" minutes after her divorce was finalized. How did she hold it together?
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It happened in March 2022
As Kelly told Andy Cohen in a Sirius XM Town Hall, the day she performed a tribute to Dolly Parton last spring wasn't easy for her.
"I'm looking at Dolly Parton and I'm like, I had just gotten my text of like, 'Hey, your divorce is final, like you’ve both signed,'" she said. "Like, right before getting on a stage to sing 'I Will Always Love You.' I was like, 'Screw you, universe.' That's the timing?"
She admitted she'd rather "not sing something" like that
She also said that it was a good distraction from what she was going through in her personal life.
"What I do think, though, and I'm thankful for, is that was such a huge moment for me personally going on that nobody knew about that it kind of distracted me from the moment," Kelly said. "So whenever I got through it and I got off stage and I was like, 'That didn't suck.' It wasn't Whitney Houston or Dolly, but it didn't suck."
Her performance still came out strong
And it wasn't just how she and her fans felt about it, either — her friend and fellow musician Chris Stapleton even sent her a text afterward, offering her plenty of compliments.
"It just made me feel really special that someone I admire and had admired for years, even before he came on the scene in a big way," she said. "It just made me feel really good. I don’t think he even knows, but that made me feel really special because it's such a big play."
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Kelly's divorce hasn't been any easy one
Before the divorce was finalized in March 2022, Kelly and Brandon went through a lot of very public back-and-forth on everything from money to custody. In the end, Kelly received primary custody of their two children, River and Remington, though she does still have to pay Brandon $45,000 a month in child support.
Kelly has a lot to celebrate.
More than a year out from her difficult divorce, Kelly's brand new album, Chemistry, is officially out now — and hopefully, she's finding that things in her life are becoming easier with that huge hurdle behind her. Everyone's rooting for you, Kelly!
