The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson has requested that a judge approve her divorce from her estranged husband, Brandon Blackstock. After winning American Idol back in 2002, the singer shot to huge fame and success in the music industry. Then she started branching out into other projects, including joining The Voice as a coach in season 14. Many celebrities have come and gone from the red chair-turning reality competition show over past 10 years, but Clarkson has appeared in every season ever since being hired. Along with her duties as a coach, Clarkson launched her own daytime talk show in September 2019, for which the Voice coach has already won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards.
The Voice's Clarkson and Blackstock, who is a talent manager, started a relationship in 2012, and then got married the following year. As a result, one of Clarkson's in-laws was none other than Blackstock's step-mother and country music icon Reba McEntire. Over the years, Blackstock has been deeply embedded in his wife's career, including being her manager and convincing her to host a talk show; he was even listed as an executive producer on the show. They have two children together, a girl and a boy born in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Blackstock already had two children from a previous marriage. The Voice coach ended up filing for divorce in mid-2020.
TMZ reports that Clarkson and her lawyer filed legal documents this week to ask the judge in their case to approve her request for a divorce. The singer is even willing to set aside financial and custody decisions for a future undetermined date. There are various matters that have been holding up the divorce proceedings. Blackstock believes their prenup is not valid. Last fall, Clarkson claimed Brandon's management company committed fraud while he was her manager and is requesting that he return her management fees.
The areas that seem to be finalized have to do with custody and spousal support. Toward the end of last year, The Voice's Clarkson won primary custody of their daughter and son. While that motion is currently on a temporary basis, it will likely become permanent primary physical custody at some point. And Brandon has been granted temporary spousal support, which will end in 2023.
Anyone who has been following various updates on Clarkson's divorce over the past year knows that this separation has not been smooth sailing for the estranged couple. Clarkson is clearly ready for her marriage to officially end. It can't be easy to be going through something so contentious in the public eye. As part of her journey to have a fresh start, the Voice coach recently sold her Nashville house, and is currently selling a house she owns in Encino, California. The new home she bought in Los Angeles is in a neighborhood that backs right up to Universal Studios Hollywood, where she films both The Voice and The Kelly Clarkson Show. When The Voice returns in the fall for season 21, she and fellow coaches Blake Shelton and John Legend will be joined by pop superstar Ariana Grande.
Source: TMZ