Kelly Clarkson Reflects on “Rough Couple of Years” After Divorce

Kelly Clarkson has been waiting for a moment like this…a summer off, that is.

As a singer, talk show host and mother of two fresh off an eight-season run on The Voice, Clarkson keeps quite busy. And during an Aug. 22 interview on Today, the “Since U Been Gone” star shared she just had her first summer break from work in years, spending the much-needed few months off with her family.

“I hadn’t had a minute and it’s obviously been a rough couple of years,” Clarkson told Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly. “So it was really important to me to, like, shut down for a minute.”

Those “rough couple of years” have included Clarkson’s divorce from Brandon Blackstock. The American Idol alum filed for divorce from the talent manager in 2020 after almost seven years of marriage, finalizing it earlier this year. They share two children together—daughter River, 8, and son Remington, 6—and Clarkson said she and her ex were both in Montana this summer with their kids.

“The kids were with me and with their dad,” she said. “It was nice because they usually have to travel a lot because of our separation. So we were both in Montana. It felt kind of the first time—I think my kids felt—a little more centered as well. So it was nice.”