Minutes after learning her divorce had been finalized, Kelly Clarkson was in no mood to sing about love. But that’s what she had to do.
In a SiriusXM Town Hall segment set to air Friday, the “Because of You” entertainer told Andy Cohen that she was taking part in a Dolly Parton tribute when she got the news that her split was settled.
“I’m looking at Dolly Parton,” Clarkson told Cohen, explaining that she “had just gotten my text of, like, ‘Hey, your divorce is final. Like, you’ve both signed.’”
Clarkson said she received the news “right before getting on a stage to sing ‘I Will Always Love You.’”
“I was like, ‘Screw you, universe,’” the singer said, laughing, of the unfortunate song choice. “That’s the timing?”
Cohen suggested that Clarkson probably wanted “to be going on stage and singing ‘Since U Been Gone.’”
“Well, I just wanted to, you know, not sing something like that,” she answered. “What I do think, though ― and I’m thankful for ― is, that was such a huge moment for me personally going on that nobody knew about, that it kind of distracted me from the moment.”
Clarkson filed for divorce from her husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock, in 2020. The couple share a 9-year-old daughter, River Rose, and a 6-year-old son, Remington Alexander.
The “American Idol” winner has said that one of the most difficult parts of the divorce has been seeing her children get upset.
“I literally ask my kids every night when we’re snuggling, and I put them to bed, ‘Are you happy? And if you’re not, what could make you happier?’” Clarkson said on Angie Martinez’s “IRL” podcast in March.
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“A lot of times [they] would be like, ‘You know, I’m just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house,’” she said. “And they’re really honest about it, and I’m raising that kind of individual. I want you to be honest with me.”
“I just sit there, and I’m like, ‘I get it. I’m from a divorced family as well. I get it,’” Clarkson explained. “That sucks, you know? But we’re going to work it out. And you are so loved by both of us.”