Heidi Gutman/NBCUniversal/Getty Photos; Taylor Hill/Getty Photos
It’s been 4 years since Kelly Clarkson filed for divorce from her ex-husband and supervisor, Brandon Blackstock, and nonetheless, there are aftershocks rumbling from the contentious uncoupling.
It’s been a protracted, bitter finish to a relationship that formally started in 2012, although Clarkson and Blackstock first met years prior. Blackstock’s dad, Narvel, was Clarkson’s supervisor, and in 2006, they crossed paths when Clarkson collaborated with Rascal Flats, whom Brandon was managing on the time. Blackstock was additionally married then, so it wasn’t till he divorced that he and Clarkson reconnected after the latter sang the Nationwide Anthem on the 2012 Tremendous Bowl.
They married in 2013 and had two youngsters: a daughter born in 2014 and a son born in 2016. All through their time collectively, Blackstock additionally served as Clarkson’s supervisor, an association that’s nonetheless inflicting issues as they proceed to untangle their working relationship after the resounding finish of their romantic one.
With Clarkson opening up one other chapter within the ongoing saga earlier this week, as she seeks extra money from a California Labor Fee ruling on Blackstock’s enterprise practices, right here’s a timeline of a high-profile cut up that’s performed out in courtrooms and tabloids, as a lot as songs and levels.
Clarkson recordsdata for divorce
Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock on June 4, 2020, citing irreconcilable variations. Within the authentic submitting, Clarkson requested the courtroom to implement a prenup settlement, guarantee she wouldn’t must pay Blackstock spousal assist, and that each events would cowl their very own authorized charges. Clarkson additionally requested that her final identify be restored after taking Blackstock’s once they wed.
Over the subsequent few months, Clarkson spoke brazenly in regards to the divorce. She, clearly, didn’t share particular particulars, particularly something pertaining to her children, however she was candid about her emotions and the challenges of going by such a private factor within the public eye. In an Oct. 2020 interview with Leisure Tonight, she referred to as the cut up “horribly unhappy,” including: “The factor that’s been sort of onerous to navigate is I’m an open guide, however in some unspecified time in the future, I’m a mama bear greater than I’m an individual within the public eye. So I care 100% extra about my youngsters than I do anything on this planet.”
Editor’s picks
Contractual disputes
In Sept. 2020, amidst the divorce proceedings, Starstruck Leisure, the administration firm owned by Blackstock’s father, sued Clarkson. They accused her of allegedly breaching her “oral” administration contract and owing over $1.4 million in commissions. On prime of that, the agency claimed it “developed Clarkson right into a mega celebrity” and would possible be owed $5.4 million in commissions by the tip of the yr. Clarkson filed a response to the go well with to the California Labor Fee in Nov. 2020 — however the dispute would fall by the wayside for the subsequent three years.
Clarkson awarded main custody
Additionally in Nov. 2020, a decide awarded Clarkson main custody of her and Blackstock’s two children. Within the ruling, the decide stated “that underneath the circumstances current on this case, the curiosity in offering stability and continuity for the minor youngsters weighs in favor” of Clarkson (although Blackstock was nonetheless allowed to go to and was granted sure holidays with their children). The submitting additionally famous that “the extent of battle between the mother and father has elevated. The events have a troublesome time co-parenting because of problems with belief between them.”
Clarkson declared legally single
In July 2021, because the official divorce proceedings have been nonetheless technically dragging on, Clarkson requested a decide to declare her legally single. In a courtroom submitting, she stated that the couple’s “irreconcilable variations” had precipitated their marriage to “irretrievably break down,” including: “No counseling or reconciliation effort can be of any worth presently.” The submitting did strike a conciliatory observe, nonetheless, with Clarkson saying she and Blackstock “each deserve the chance to construct a brand new life.”
Associated
The request was granted the next month.
Divorce finalized
Virtually two years after first submitting, Clarkson and Blackstock’s divorce was formally finalized in March 2022. The ultimate ruling did come down fairly onerous on Clarkson, although: She was ordered to pay Blackstock a one-time lump sum of over $1.3 million, $45,000 a month in baby assist, and $115,000 a month in spousal assist till Jan. 31, 2024. The pair additionally agreed to joint custody of their children, although the 2 would reside primarily with Clarkson in Los Angeles.
Courtroom paperwork detailed a wide range of different objects divvied up between the 2. Whereas Clarkson acquired the household pets and a flight simulator, Blackstock was awarded their “farm cattle, livestock, inventory canine, and horses” (ostensibly from the ranch they shared in Montana), a few snowmobiles, and a few Patek Philippe watches.
Break-up album incoming
A couple of months after the divorce was finalized, in Sept. 2022, Clarkson instructed Selection that she was on the brink of launch her first album of all-new materials since 2017’s Which means of Life. The singer revealed, too, that the LP would very a lot be a divorce album, acknowledging she’d began engaged on it two years prior, simply as proceedings have been getting underway.
“My producer and I have been laughing yesterday as a result of I used to be like, ‘Keep in mind that time we wrote, like, 25 songs in every week?’” Clarkson recalled. “Lots of these are those which are on the album. I actually wrote most of those nearly two years in the past. Then I instructed my label, ‘I can’t discuss this till I’ve gone by it,’ and it’s simply taken a while to try this. That’s one of many causes we’ve carried out plenty of Christmas stuff the previous two years — as a result of I used to be like, ‘Effectively, that’s completely happy!’”
The Chemistry period
Clarkson formally introduced her new album, Chemistry, in March 2023 — pointedly one yr after her divorce was finalized — and it arrived just a few months in a while June 23. In a four-star evaluate, Ilana Kaplan wrote for Rolling Stone: “Clarkson’s therapeutic journey isn’t linear or with out its sharp edges — it’s a twisty curler coaster burning with grief, rage, and remorse. In any case, hell hath no fury like a pop star scorned.”
Clarkson carried that Chemistry vitality to the stage. A couple of days after asserting the album, on The Kelly Clarkson Present, she coated Gayle’s hit “Abcdefu” with just a few lyrical tweaks to each appease daytime TV censors and to be about her divorce. Even bolder, in August, she reworked her personal 2015 music, “Piece by Piece,” from a devotional anthem about Blackstock into certainly one of self-empowerment.
Trending
A belated victory
In Nov. 2023, three years after Clarkson took Blackstock and Starstruck to job in entrance of the California Labor Fee, she emerged victorious, with the board ruling Blackstock charged Clarkson for enterprise offers he wasn’t licensed to hunt. In California, managers can not act as brokers, and as such, Clarkson efficiently argued that Blackstock should return commissions he acquired for securing the singer contracts with The Voice, Norwegian Cruise Traces, the Billboard Music Awards, and even her Wayfair commercials. In whole, the courtroom stated Blackstock owed Clarkson $2.6 million.
Blackstock appealed the choice, arguing he and Starstruck deserve a separate trial on the matter. With that call nonetheless pending, Clarkson determined to fireplace off one other salvo: In March 2024, she filed a cross-complaint in response to Starstruck’s authentic 2020 lawsuit, searching for to affirm the Labor Fee’s ruling and probably increase the $2.6 million she was awarded.