When Kelly Clarkson and her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, filed for divorce in 2020, she was forced to live a new reality – one that meant she wouldn’t get to see her children on certain holidays. For a mother of two who had spent every holiday with her children since 2014, it wasn’t an easy adjustment.
Clarkson and Blackstock – the son of her manager, at the time – started dating in 2012 and eventually got married on October 20, 2013, in Walland, Tennessee. They welcomed their first child – a daughter named River Rose – in June 2014 and their second child – a son named Remy Alexander – in April 2016.
Clarkson’s divorce with Blackstock was finalized earlier this year – June, to be exact – and while she’s still getting used to her new holiday schedule with the children, she’s starting to take advantage of her time spent alone. Instead of basking in her loneliness, she’s learning to repurpose that time back into herself.
Kelly Clarkson opened up about her new holiday routine as a single mother during a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, in which she had Jewel on as a guest. Kelly explained how she and her husband came to agree that he would get the kids for Thanksgiving, while she got them for Christmas.
Not only did Thanksgiving mean a lot to her ex-husband and his family, but Clarkson revealed she wasn’t too fond of the holiday and would instead prefer to have her children for Christmas. This made the agreement between the two rather easy, but that doesn’t mean it was an easy adjustment for Clarkson.
“It was so weird because you’ve always had a kid there and then all of a sudden you’re alone,” she said to Jewel, who is a single mother of one since her divorce to Ty Murray in 2014. “At first it’s weird and then you’re like, ‘OK. I can do things.’ It’s kind of incredible. You do get a little me time,” Clarkson continued.
Clarkson admitted to being quite a ‘mess’ during the first few holidays without her children but added that she’s finally starting to reap the rewards. “But now, I’m like, it’s awesome. Absence does make the heart grow fonder,” said Clarkson. As for Jewel, she believes it’s preparing her for ‘empty nest syndrome.’
Kelly Clarkson Channels Her Inner Oprah on December 14th
On Tuesday, Kelly Clarkson was chopping it up with Jewel about enjoying some ‘me-time’ during the holiday season. On Wednesday, the host decided to channel her inner Oprah and gift her audience members, which includes dozens of people, with some ‘me-time’ of their own – in the form of a vacation.
First, she ran through a series of gifts that her audience members were receiving – including a Weber Traveler portable gas grill, a $300 gift card to Barefoot Dreams, and a Solo Stove Yukon fire pit. The underlying theme was an outdoor adventure, but that was just a precursor for what happened next.
After a quick explanation about how Outrigger Resorts & Hotels in Hawaii was celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, Clarkson revealed that all of her audience members were receiving a magical, all-expenses-paid vacation to Hawaii – a three-night, four-day vacation for two, nonetheless.
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“I feel like this is what Oprah felt like — I like this feeling!” said Kelly Clarkson as the audience erupted into a huge holiday cheer. For those that don’t remember, Oprah Winfrey had some pretty hefty giveaways during her time as a television host and even gifted her entire audience cars at one point.