There’s been very little gossip following Kelly Clarkson’s divorce filing from Brandon Blackstock, her husband of more than six years. Sources told Entertainment Tonight that everything fell apart in quarantine, yet another pandemic divorce. The Blast’s sources said that everything seemed okay between Kelly and Brandon, that there was no big drama or scandal. Maybe that’s even the truth, who knows. Well, Us Weekly put Kelly on their cover this week, and People Magazine has another exclusive too. Here’s the Us Weekly piece:
On the surface, Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock seemed to be doing just fine. However, issues had been plaguing the now-estranged couple behind closed doors for a while.
“They clashed on so many levels, and being in quarantine together heightened their problems to the point of no return,” a source close to the Kelly Clarkson Show host reveals exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly. “So she filed for divorce.”
“Everyone thought Kelly and Brandon had the perfect marriage, but they definitely didn’t,” the source tells Us. “Brandon’s very laid-back, whereas Kelly’s pretty high-strung.”
Although the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown was ultimately the straw that broke the camel’s back, according to multiple insiders, the Grammy winner’s decision to start a talk show on top of coaching The Voice also played a role in her issues with her husband.
“When she went to Hollywood, it changed things,” the source adds, noting that Blackstock “prefers their quiet life in Nashville.”
Is Kelly high-strung? While she doesn’t seem to give off “laid back” vibes, she seems more like the type to make a list and carefully check things off throughout the day, which she does because she knows she can be a bit ditzy. Like, that’s her brand: driven, but ditzy too. Not really high-strung. Meanwhile, People’s sources are leaning heavily into the “it came out of nowhere” story:
Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock’s split shocked fans and even their loved ones, but sources tell PEOPLE the couple have been facing issues for some time.
“It just came out of nowhere. Their marriage was so strong,” says a source close to Blackstock and Clarkson, who filed for divorce on June 4. But with busy careers and four kids, any cracks in the marriage became amplified while they self-isolated in Montana amid the coronavirus pandemic over the last couple of months.
“It was a stressful time,” says a source. “[Quarantining in Montana] exacerbated any issues.”
According to another insider, Clarkson and Blackstock have “been like friends for a while,” and work demands put a strain on their relationship.
“Things had changed in their marriage and the split was a while coming,” says the insider. “They both work so hard. It’s nearly impossible to enjoy each other, especially with the children needing constant attention.”
Now back in Los Angeles, the star is continuing to work and focusing on her children. “Kelly’s been through a lot, and she thought Brandon was her happily ever after,” says the source. “It’s very sad.”
They “had been like friends for a while” – that I believe. I think they just got along and they were raising their kids and she was super-busy, and then when the lockdown happened, they finally got a chance to examine their relationship and they didn’t like what it had become. Of course, maybe all of this is a cover for some bigger story which could come out at some point. We’ll see.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Oh really, what about the rumor that he has Fathered a child with someone else during their marriage? Adultery trumps personality differences, IMO.
Mr. Laid Back = Wondering dick syndrome.
I snorted at the diagnosis 😂🤣 thanks for the morning laugh!
right?!? Apple didn’t fall far from his daddy’s tree. His dad cheated on Reba countless times and this asshat cheated on Kelly…It’s a bad secret and extremely known…this story source is totally him!! hahahahahaha!!!
Obvious how he was “laying back.”
LOLOL!
She gave an interview prior to the divorce that for her birthday in quarantine, all she wanted was to be left alone, to not have to cook one more meal or pick up any more clothes.
Sounds like he was so laid back he couldn’t get up off the couch.
I’d be filing for divorce, too.
Yep. He’s lazy and she’s sick of it.
Seems like he wants her to “have it all” aka driving her career to an insane workload AND maintaining their quiet Nashville life as Suzy Homemaker.
I’d be excusing myself as well.
Stating the obvious, but- it NEVER comes out of nowhere. Perhaps they were great at faking the “perfect” relationship for people they knew.
Exactly. She seems like such a sweet, genuine hardworking person…and he seems the opposite.
The reason is he is her manager and pushed and pushed her to do the talk show until she caved. She said she kept telling him no. She already had too much on her plate with filming two seasons of the Voice a year, making albums, performing, etc., a nd had two little ones and actively helping to raise her two stepchildren. He executive produces her talk show. How could their marriage stay a marriage when their work life became all-consuming, with little to no room for the marriage itself? He is also one of Blake Shelton’s managers.
She said she’s asked him before, are you talking to me as my manager or as my husband, something like that. I don’t think cheating ended the marriage.
I just think she’s under tremendous stress. Getting that talk show off the ground is a full-time job in itself. Quarantining together exposed all the cracks in their marriage.
Given the prenup it sounds like he was feathering his nest while he could – as her manager he gets a nice but from her earnings. She needs to sack him as her manager other wise he will bleed her dry.
This exactly.
To add insult to injury, he was cheating on her too.
She deserves so much better in a husband and in a manager. Hopefully she sacks him.
Interesting. I was wondering how/why she was doing all that – music career, talk show, the Voice, and she had a Vegas show going too, plus her kids. Was he trying to keep her really busy? Or make a lot of money? All of those things are good, but maybe not all at once.
I’ve never gotten the impression that she’s at all high strung.
“preferred their quiet life in Nashville” sounds like code for “threatened by her success”.
You married a celebrity. A “quiet life” definitely wasn’t in the brochure, dude.
This breakup story is highly sexist. Woman is high strung, code for bitch. Man is laid back, code for lazy. I’m sure they had legitimate reasons to breakup especially with two kids, but I doubt it’s this cookie cutter sexist scenario.
Yeah, I agree. “High strung” is such a sexist stereotype for a woman. They’re definitely trying to paint the picture of Kelly as some sort of harpy who wouldn’t leave poor Brandon alone. I’d love to be able to ask these writers if they ever get tired of writing the same sexist fiction.
Totally agree, but I will add that some people are truly high-strung, not just code word for bitch—however, that personality trait doesn’t come out of nowhere. If she truly is high-strung, and he knew he didn’t vibe with that and married her anyway, that’s on him.
Sincerely, the older sister of an incredibly high-strung but amazingly sweet, bright, and funny sibling.
This is 100% what I took from that word choice. I’m surprised they missed the chance to include “pushy” in their story.
100% he is planting stories to try and make her look bad. Let the record reflect that I never liked him in his face.
she’s high strung and he’s laid back translates to, she gets upset that he doesn’t pull his weight as a husband.
Ditzy is a pretty gross stereotype to place on an extroverted woman. Maybe I’m missing something, but she’s hella successfully and worked against the current to get where she is. Show her some respect.
A lot of marriages devolve into brother/sister living. But when you have 45 million in the bank. You have options to get out of it.
I think there’s an episode of Carpool Karaoke with both of them in it, or maybe she talks about her husband, which made it pretty clear it didn’t come out of nowhere.
SJR said it first but word on the street is he fathered a child and after multiple instances of cheating that she tried to swallow, it was her breaking point.
She deserves better.
“Laid back”???? Bullpucky. I guarantee she is sick and tired of being the one who has to hustle non-stop so he can sit on his arse and collect a percentage as her “manager”. He always struck me as weak and incapable of anything OTHER than his chosen “quiet” (aka unemployed) lifestyle. This story is SUPER sexist and pisses me off. Buh-Bye, Dude. She will be perfectly fine without him.
I’ve never seen any of her shows, so maybe I just don’t know, but my impression of her is that she’s outgoing and maybe a little hyper, but not type A or high strung. I’ve never seen her as ditzy either. She just seems friendly and down to earth to me.
It sounds like he hasn’t been pulling his weight at home. It doesn’t make you high strung to want your partner to get off the sofa and help out with the kids and the house.
When she did Carpool Karaoke and was surprised with a “date” in the backseat it couldn’t have been more awkward between them. That was probably over a year ago.