Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock’s high-profile split came as a surprise to many fans, especially after nearly seven years of marriage. The pop star and talk show host filed for divorce in 2020, citing irreconcilable differences, but the legal battle that followed revealed deeper tensions behind the breakup. The “Miss Independent” artist initiated the split, leaving fans wondering: what went wrong?
Despite the end of their marriage, Kelly is staying by Brandon’s side as he faces health challenges. In August 2025, she postponed the remainder of her Las Vegas residency, sharing that her children’s father has been ill. “At this moment, I need to be fully present for them,” she wrote in a heartfelt Instagram statement, thanking fans for their understanding.
Keep reading to learn everything we know about their divorce and their family.
The former couple first met in 2006 but didn’t start dating until early 2012, as Brandon was still married to his ex-wife Melissa Ashworth until they finalized their divorce that year. By the end of 2012, he and the “Since U Been Gone” artist got engaged. While announcing their engagement, Kelly gushed over Brandon’s proposal being the “happiest night of [her] life” via Twitter (now known as X).
While speaking with PEOPLE at the time, Kelly described the moment Brandon popped the question. “Out of nowhere I just said, ‘Thanks for being an awesome guy.’ I’ve never been loved properly by a man, and I was just like, ‘I thank you so much for that,’” she recalled. In 2013, the couple got married.
Throughout their marriage, Kelly opened up about their love. During an interview on SiriusXM in 2017, the “Behind These Hazel Eyes” singer explained that she “never felt … sexually attracted to anybody before [Brandon].” While pointing out that she wasn’t shading any of her exes, Kelly noted, “I honestly thought I was asexual — I’d never been turned on like that in my whole life. I was like, ‘Oh that’s that feeling … OK! That’s what they were talking about in Waiting to Exhale. I just got it. I just didn’t have a clue.”
By 2019, Brandon — being Kelly’s manager at the time — encouraged his then-wife to pursue her own talk show, which would go on to be The Kelly Clarkson Show. After most people had to quarantine at home amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Kelly revealed that she and Brandon were staying at their shared Montana ranch. During a May 2020 virtual discussion with her other coaches from The Voice, Kelly called her then-husband her “partner in crime.”
