Ahead of the release of her new album, Chemistry, this Friday, June 23, Kelly Clarkson, 41, opened up about how she’s doing after her highly-publicized divorce from Brandon Blackstock. During a new interview with ET Canada, the original American Idol winner revealed she’s been “regularly” going to therapy since before she and Brandon split. The reveal came after Kelly was asked if she saved money by writing music to cope with her feelings. She joked, “Girl, I didn’t save,” before revealing she’s “been regularly doing” therapy. “I do love it.”
Kelly, who shares two children (son Remington “Remy” Alexander, 7, and daughter River Rose, 9) with her ex, filed for divorce in 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage. “I actually started when I was married, you know, obviously having difficulties and… not just about the relationships, just in general, I’d never really done regular therapy or anything like that,” Kelly explained. “Usually, honestly, writing is therapeutic for me and I have a really great group of friends, so I feel like I have a good, you know, listening party and like to bounce things off of thoughts and feelings or whatever. But it literally was a really good turning point for me.”
Kelly went on to say that therapists “give you so many tools for how to navigate certain situations”. She further added that it’s “really helpful” to speak with “somebody outside your circle that doesn’t know anything but just knows what’s happening in the now.”
Kelly’s new album will cover the highs and lows of her marriage, as her songwriting usually occurs when she’s “going through something”.
“That’s why I always say like people’s best work of art, whether you’re a sculptor, painter, writer, whatever you are, it’s usually after a hard time because that’s when they’re feeling everything so intensely, the artist, right?”, she told the news outlet.
Kelly also recently revealed that her kids are still hoping she’ll reconcile with her ex. “My kids just came back from my ex and any time there’s mention of maybe him being with somebody else … they are just really adamant about keeping that dream alive that we might still be together one day,” she revealed on the June 13 episode of author and activist Glennon Doyle‘s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things.
Furthermore, the “Since U Been Gone” hitmaker has said life after divorce is the “hardest thing to navigate” during a June 2022 appearance on The Chart Show with Brooke Reese. She said, “It’s one of those things where I’m a human and I’m going through something huge. Obviously, everybody knows a huge divorce went through and it’s been like, two years and not easy with kids.”
Kelly has primary custody of the kids she shares with Brandon, but she was ordered to pay him $45,600 per month in child support and $115,000 per month in spousal support, according to TMZ.