“It’s obviously been a rough couple of years, so it was really important to me to shut down for a minute,” Kelly Clarkson said during an Aug. 23 interview on TODAY. Kelly, 40, spoke with hosts Carson Daly and Hoda Kotb about taking a break from The Kelly Clarkson Show to spend the summer months in Montana with her kids — son, Remington, 6, and 8-year-old daughter, River Rose. The American Idol winner also said that the children’s father – and her ex-husband – Brandon Blackstock was there, too. “The kids were with me and with their dad,” she said. “It was nice because they usually have to travel a lot because of our separation.”
“We were both in Montana,” Kelly said of her former love and manager, whom she filed for divorce in June 2020 after seven years of marriage. “So, it felt really like the first time — I think my kids felt more centered as well,” she added.
🎤 @kellyclarkson is live in studio talking about the brand-new season of The Kelly Clarkson Show @KellyClarksonTV, her family, and more! pic.twitter.com/yu7Mq6acMT
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 23, 2022
Kelly and Brandon, 45, settled their divorce in March of this year after a contentious back-and-forth in the courts. The two agreed on a custody agreement that sees the kids spend one weekend a month with their father, resulting in $45,600 per month in child support (along with the $115k per month in spousal support.) Keep in mind that Kelly makes around $20 million per year. Brandon was allowed to stay at the ranch until June 1 but had to pay $12,500 a month in rent.
In October 2021, a judge ruled that Kelly would maintain full legal ownership of the Montana ranch – the property where Brandon was staying during the split. The two reached a compromise at the start of 2021, with Kelly giving 5% of the ranch – worth an estimated $17 million – to Brandon, meaning his stake in the property is worth around $900k.
This divorce has been “the hardest thing to navigate,” said Kelly during an interview on Apple Music 1’s The Chart Show with Brooke Reese. “It’s one of those things where I’m a human, and I’m going through something huge. … Obviously, everybody knows a huge divorce went through, and it’s been like, two years and not easy with kids.” Kelly also said that she was “navigating” where she’s going to go with her music career, saying that new music is on its way. “It’s coming. I just got to get my crap together. I just got to figure out what I’m going to release.”