We’ve heard how hard this divorce has been for Kelly Clarkson behind the curtain. And now she’s opening up about how her kids have been affected.
As we’ve been following since their break up, Kelly and ex-hubby Brandon Blackstock have been going through a super messy split — how could anyone forget about all that ranch drama? As you might expect, the entire situation has sadly been taking its toll on their kids River Rose, 8, and Remi, 6.
On Monday’s episode of the IRL Podcast the songstress got real about how her kiddos have been doing. She told host Angie Martinez:
“I think I am my mother’s child, and I’m raising very independent children. They will be out the door as soon as they’re able and capable. They’re very independent.”
As well as their children being independent, they’re also just kids — and they don’t seem to fully grasp what their parents’ divorce truly is yet:
“I literally ask my kids every night when we’re snuggling, ‘Are you happy?’ And if you’re not, what could make you happier? 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.”
Heartbreaking. Even if what they have to say is so sad to hear, we must say it’s refreshing Kelly is encouraging them to express their feelings so openly.
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The 40-year-old says she’s able to relate to her kids because she’s also a child of divorce:
“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. 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.”
The Stronger singer also revealed the moment she knew she had to make the incredibly difficult decision to leave Brandon. She recalled how reading an excerpt from the book Untamed by Glennon Doyle pushed her to finally make the call. That excerpt posed the question if you’d want her daughter to have the same marriage you had — and it led to a real epiphany:
“It just changed the perspective on that. I am a way better parent when I take care of myself — the oxygen mask mentality, right? And you do have to take care of yourself in order for that to trickle down.”
Yep. You have to put your oxygen mask on first. Parenting 101. Regardless of the decision to leave, she still maintains the talent manager is her “first love”:
“My kids ask me all the time, ‘So you don’t love him anymore?’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t know if that goes away.'”
Ouch. Sounds like a song title, doesn’t it? And Kelly’s newest record is certainly gonna shatter some hearts! The next era is going to be centered around her marriage and divorce:
“Every phase is on my next record. There is sadness. There is rage. It’s a lot because you go through all those emotions. If you don’t hit all those, were you really in it?… I was destroyed, like, on the ground, crying. That’s a loss. It’s a death … I didn’t know if I was going to release an album because I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to talk about this.'”
It’s awesome to hear she’s doing so well these days, as she said she’s feeling more like herself than ever:
“I’ve had a really rough couple years. It’s taken a minute and therapy to get there … You do not have to attend an argument, every argument that comes your way.”
And as for the Catch My Breath singer’s love life? She’s not opposed to diving back in eventually, but she definitely seems to love being single:
“I don’t want another dude in my house with my children. I really do, truly love being single. I like my bed. I like my routine.”
It’s so wonderful to see Kelly being back on her A-game! Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Avalon/YouTube/The Kelly Clarkson Show]