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Kelly Clarkson Reveals Why She ‘Never’ Wanted to Marry Brandon Blackstock: ‘I’ve Never Been That Person’
Kelly Clarkson revealed why she “never wanted to get married the first time” to ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.
“[Brandon] had children, a religious background, and it was important, I think, for him,” Kelly, 41, told People in an interview published on Wednesday, January 3. “But I’ve never been that person. Because I’ve been through a couple divorces in my family, I just don’t like to put any weight on it. It can happen; it doesn’t have to happen. For my kids, I definitely would never even think about it until they’re out of my house.”
The Grammy award winner also lamented about dating in general.
“Dating sucks. It’s so awkward. I was single until I was, like, 30, and I forgot how really good at that I am,” Kelly said. “I told a friend [that a potential partner] would have to be an individual that brings their own life to the table without needing anything from me. It’s far more romantic to say, ‘I want you, but I don’t need anything.’ I’m really good right now, I’m having a good time.”
As for her views on love, the “Since U Been Gone” singer explained that she felt like “love has always come with this elephant in the room of sadness.”
“I’ve always known that love is hard,” Kelly continued. “I’ve known love is not forever. I don’t mean that to sound depressing, but I think we put a lot of pressure on that word. Sometimes love is looking at someone and going, ‘This is not good for you. This is not good for me.’ That’s a hard thing to face. But when you do, I think you grow.”
Kelly began dating Brandon, 47, in 2011 when his father, Narvel Blackstock, worked as Kelly’s manager. They got married in 2013, but Kelly filed for divorce seven years later in 2020. Because the divorce took so long to be finalized due to the parties’ inability to settle matters, Kelly requested to be declared “legally single” in July 2021. The divorce was finalized in March 2022.
Brandon eventually took on the role of Kelly’s manager and secured her roles as a coach on The Voice and as host of the Billboard Music Awards, as well as her deals with Norwegian Cruise Line and Wayfair, according to court documents obtained by TMZ in November 2023. However, Brandon reportedly collected fees for the bookings equaling to $2,641,374, and the labor commissioner ordered Brandon to pay that back to Kelly. He also received $1.98 million in commission for Kelly’s coaching gig on The Voice, according to the report, but he reportedly plans to appeal the ruling.
