American singer Kelly Clarkson and talent manager Brandon Blackstock divorced earlier this year on August 3. The couple got married back in 2013 after dating each other for two years. In an interview ahead of tying the knot, she said “I’m too happy. He’s ruining my creativity,” adding “I’m writing all this happy s—t. It’s killing me.”
In 2014, they welcomed their daughter named River and in 2016, their son Remington was born. Blackstock also has another daughter and son named Savannah and Seth respectively from his former wife Melissa Ashworth. In June 2020, the news of Clarkson filing for divorce from her husband broke claiming “irreconcilable differences.”
In September 2020, Kelly said in a statement “I mean, it’s no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster,” adding “Personally, it’s been a little hard the last couple of months. I’ve been talking to friends that have been through a 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.”
“You can ask anyone who’s gone through a divorce, I don’t think anyone expects it,” Clarkson said the same month during an interview. She further added “You see yourself growing old with someone and then life has a different path. It’s so hard on everyone, and you know me, I’m really open. I try to be open and share … We all go through things. But at the same time, we have four kids in total with each other. That’s a lot of hearts involved, and you just have to be really careful. … We’re in the public eye so that’s hard too, to try and be truthful but also keep your privacy.”
Clarkson and Blackstock’s Divorce went through a rocky path and here’s a look at it.
Divorce Settlement
After the news of Kelly being ordered to pay monthly support of about $200,000 to her estranged husband, a source revealed that a “formal settlement” has not been decided prior to their divorce finalization. The source added “It’s expected to happen soon,” continuing that the former couple’s “prenup is not being contested, despite reports.”
Why did Clarkson and Blackstock Divorce?
As revealed by an insider back in June 2020: “They clashed on so many levels, and being in quarantine together heightened their problems to the point of no return. So she filed for divorce,” adding “Everyone thought Kelly and Brandon had the perfect marriage, but they definitely didn’t. Brandon’s very laid-back, whereas Kelly’s pretty high-strung.”
Kelly spending the majority of her time in California also “changed things” between the former couple.
Brandon Blackstock’s father Sued Kelly Clarkson
In September 2020, Starstruck Management Group, a company owned by Clarkson’s father-in-law named Narvel Blackstock sued Kelly asserting that she owes them $1.4 million in outstanding commissions apart from the paid amount of the $1.9 million.
Clarkson has been working with her father-in-law’s company since 2007. According to documents, she is yet to pay the total commission for her work on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Voice in 2020, asserting she will owe the group a minimum of $5.4 million by year-end.
In November 2020, she countersued Starstruck accusing the management group for breaching the California Labor Code by “procuring, offering, promising, or attempting to procure employment or engagements” without being licensed properly.
During that time, Brandon’s father backfired stating “[Clarkson’s petition] conveniently ignores the fact that Kelly had her own licensed talent agency [Creative Artists Agency] at all times. While Starstruck Management Group provided talent management services on her behalf, it did so at all times that CAA was her agency of record,” adding “It is unfortunate that Kelly is again attempting to avoid paying commissions that are due and owing to Starstruck to try and achieve some perceived advantage in her ongoing custody and divorce proceedings.”
Children Custody
In November 2020, a report of Clarkson getting primary custody of their kids River and Remington came out. As per the document, “The Court finds that under the circumstances present in this case, the interest in providing stability and continuity for the minor children weighs in favor of Petitioner having primary custody,” adding “The level of conflict between the parents has increased. The parties have a difficult time co-parenting due to issues of trust between them.”
Clarkson and Brandon will share joint custody (physically and legally) of their children with Blackstock allowed to FaceTime the children every day “at a mutually agreed upon time,” according to documents.
Los Angeles & Montana
Though Kelly Clarkson resides in Los Angeles, Brandon Blackstock decides to reside in Montana and because of this he will be required to fly to California on the first and fifth weekends of the month in Los Angeles and the third weekend in Montana to have his kids. As per Documents, “The court finds that the minor children are not now and have not been residents of Montana and that California is their home state.”
Spousal Support
Though Kelly Clarkson requested the court to enact their prenuptial agreement and stop spousal support, according to reports, he is asking for a monthly allowance of $436,000 to $301,000 in spousal support whereas an amount of $135,000 in child support from Clarkson. Along with this, Brandon also asked Kelly to pay attorney fees of $2 million.
Clarkson’s Concern About Children
In December 2020, Clarkson stated on her talk show about the trouble their kids are going through saying “It’s horrible. There are so many hard parts. The hardest for me is the kids. That’s the hardest for me,” adding “I think as women we are trained … to take it all on and you can deal with it and you’re fine, but it’s your babies that you worry about.”
Finalization
As per court’s August 2021 document, their “marital or domestic partnership status” ended on January 7, 2022.
Property Issues
Last year in December, an insider told us that “Kelly recently had a major legal setback in a bid to get Brandon evicted from the Montana property that the judge awarded solely to her,” adding “He has been living in it and said he doesn’t have the financial means to afford to purchase a residence of his own at this time, citing the unresolved financial aspect of their divorce.”
During the hearing, Kelly Clarkson addressed the court with the expectation of knocking off her former husband from her Montana ranch, but she couldn’t succeed. An insider noted “The judge sided with Brandon and ruled in his favor, the order just hasn’t been formally signed off on.”
According to a source, in January 2022, Kelly was preparing to fight for what she sought in a forthcoming trial on the ex-husband’s property. The insider said “She is devoting 100 percent of any free time she has preparing for the trial,” noted “When not filming her talk show, she is hunkered down with [attorney] Laura Wasser.”
But the same month, she agreed to grant her former husband 5.12% of the Montana ranch, which equals to $908,800 out of its aggregate $17,750,000 worth. Last year in December, she failed to get Brandon out of the property.
A source said “She will not even entertain the idea of settling with Brandon,” adding “He will not get one penny from her that isn’t ordered by the judge. It’s going to be nasty.”
Their divorce was finally settled in March 2022 and Brandon was granted $115,000 monthly in spousal support through January 2024. Blackstock will also be entitled to $45,600 each month in child support, whereas the primary custody of the children has been given to Clarkson. He will continue to live at the Montana ranch through June and needs to pay Clarkson a rent of $12,500 monthly through the time.
Kelly Clarkson was asked to disable the entire security cameras in May 2022 on the Montana ranch when Blackstock resides there. According to court documents, a judge ordered that apart from turning off the thirteen “webcams, trail cams, and any other security cameras” on the property, Kelly is also required to “send verification” to her ex-husband and his attorneys that she adhered to the order.
As per the court documents “[Clarkson’s] counsel shall further advise and specify how that was accomplished.” After a month, the reports of Blackstock leaving the ranch emerged. As per their March 2022 settlement, Blackstock was given 10 days to take out his personal belongings from the ranch and moving forward, he will now have to take permission to visit the property.
We will keep you posted with more such news until then stay tuned with us only on Venturejolt.com.