Kelly Clarkson hinted that her messy divorce from Brandon Blackstock contributed to her decision to leave The Voice.
The 40-year-old shocked fans of the competition show when news broke this May that she was vacating her coaching position after eight seasons.
Now as she prepares to take over Ellen DeGeneres’ time slot in the autumn, Kelly, who left Brandon in June 2020, went on Today and said she exited The Voice so that she could have a summer off after ‘a rough couple years.’
Beloved: Kelly Clarkson hinted that her messy divorce from Brandon Blackstock contributed to her decision to leave The Voice, which she is pictured on
Kelly revealed that she last had a free summer at the age of 16, four years before she shot to fame for winning the first season of American Idol.
‘And I don’t think it’s maybe common for a lot of working people – you don’t get summers off generally, like, unless you’re in high school,’ she acknowledged.
‘But like I just hadn’t, I hadn’t had a minute, like, and it’s obviously been a rough couple years. So it was really important for me to like shut down for a minute.’
With her newfound downtime, she ‘literally four-wheeled in the mountains. Like, that’s literally, and like walked along – I have a lot of water on my property.’
The way they were: Kelly and Brandon are pictured attending the Critics Choice Awards in January 2020, five months before she filed for divorce
Recharge: Kelly went on Today this week and said she exited The Voice so that she could have a summer off after ‘a rough couple years’
She revealed that ‘my sister and my nephew and I and a couple friends just literally spent the whole summer in the mountains’ and got to be ‘out in nature.’
Traveling to the countryside also made it easier for Kelly and Brandon’s children River, eight, and Remington, six, to spend time with both parents.
‘And the kids were with me, and with their dad, and it was nice because they usually have to travel a lot because of our separation, so we were both in Montana,’ she said. ‘So it was really, it felt kind of the first time, like, I think my kids felt a little more centered as well, so it was nice.’
As per the custody agreement, the children spend one weekend a month with their father at the former couple’s Montana ranch, where Brandon currently lives.
Kelly’s kids: Traveling to the countryside also made it easier for Kelly and Brandon’s children River, eight, and Remington, six, to spend time with both parents
As she struggled through an increasingly complicated and acrimonious divorce, Kelly was also fielding a chockablock work life.
She continued to host the daytime variety talk show that she began in 2019, continued to coach on The Voice and churned out a Christmas album last year.
Meanwhile she and Brandon fought out a rancorous divorce that dragged on for over a year and a half before it was ultimately finalized this March.
Brandon and Kelly were married for seven years before they split up in 2020, setting off a protracted bout of legal squabbling over money.
Before: Brandon and Kelly were married for seven years before they split up in 2020, setting off a protracted bout of legal squabbling over money; pictured in 2013
At one point Kelly, despite having primary custody, found herself briefly on the hook for a cumulative $200,000 a month in spousal and child support.
When they finalized the divorce, it emerged Kelly would have to fork over $46,601 in monthly child support on top of a one-time payout of $1,326,161.
She was also to give Brandon a $50,000 ‘reimbursement’ for private air travel for the children, who were to fly private until they could be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Kelly, who is poised to move into Ellen DeGeneres’ time slot this autumn, reportedly earns an annual salary of $22.8 million.
Trouper: She continued to host the daytime variety talk show that she began in 2019 (pictured), continued to coach on The Voice and churned out a Christmas album last year