In an interview, Kelly Clarkson was candid about how her divorce from Brandon Blackstock affected their children.
During an appearance on the "Angie Martinez IRL" podcast Monday, Clarkson said she is teaching her daughter River, 8, and son Remi, 6, about speaking up and being honest — and sometimes the truth hurt.
"I literally ask my kids every night when we're snuggling, 'Are you happy? And if you're not, what could make you happier?'" she said. "Sometimes they'll say — especially the past two years — a lot of it — and it kills me — and I want them to be honest, so I don't ever say, Oh God, don't tell me that.
"But a lot of times it would be like, 'You know, I'm just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house.' And they're really honest about it. And I'm raising that kind of individual."
Clarkson, who filed for divorce from Blackstock after nearly seven years of marriage, noted that she had personal experience after her parents divorced.
"I just sit there and I'm like, I get it. I'm from a divorced family as well. I get it. That sucks. But we're going to work it out. And you are so loved by both of us," she said. "I think communicating with them and not treating them — not treating them like an adult, because they're not — but not treating them like a child. They're not small feelings. Those are huge feelings, and those are huge emotions."
In March 2022, it emerged that Clarkson was granted primary custody of their children. TMZ reported at the time that Blackstock will have the kids one weekend a month and will receive $115,000 a month in spousal support, but those payments expire in January 2024.
In December 2020, Clarkson shared with author Glennon Doyle during an episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" what she found to be the most challenging thing about the split.
"The hardest for me is the kids," she said, according to Billboard. "I think, as women, especially, we're trained to take it all on and deal with it, and you're fine. But it's your babies that you worry about."
Clarkson said her children were what motivated her to finally seek the divorce.
"We've all been trained to believe a good mother is a liar. I didn't leave a marriage in spite of being a good mother; I left because I am a good mother," she said, adding that the split was also best for her and Blackstock.
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