Two months ago, singer and talk show host Kelly Clarkson shocked her fans when she filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock, her manager husband that she was married to for seven years. Now, Clarkson is reportedly begging the “court to hash out her divorce settlement in private.”
The Sun reported that the court has approved a privately compensated judge, Judge Scott M. Gordon, to handle Clarkson and Blackstock’s divorce through December of 2021. Court documents indicate that both Clarkson and Blackstock are in agreement that they want to keep their divorce proceedings out of the public eye.
Clarkson also requested joint physical and legal custody of their children, River Rose, 5, and Remington Alexander, 4, and Blackstock seems to have agreed to this request.
In addition, Clarkson asked that the court enforce their prenup, and she denied a spousal support request to Blackstock. He then responded by not selecting to end support, instead checking “other” and listed “reserved,” indicating that this is something they will need to hash out in the future.
Though many were stunned when Clarkson filed for divorce back in June, some people close to the couple were not so surprised.
“Everyone thought Kelly and Brandon had the perfect marriage, but they definitely didn’t,” one insider told Us Weekly. “Brandon’s very laid-back, whereas Kelly’s pretty high-strung.”
Another friend of the couple’s had told PEOPLE magazine that they had “been like friends for a while,” and that work demands took a toll on their relationship.
“Things had changed in their marriage and the split was a while coming,” the insider said. “They both work so hard. It’s nearly impossible to enjoy each other, especially with the children needing constant attention.”
One thing that appears to have taken a toll on their marriage is when the couple began working together on Clarkson’s talk show, which Blackstock serves as executive producer on.
“Kelly and Brandon work together nonstop and that became a contention in their relationship,” an insider told Entertainment Tonight. “Brandon is the [executive producer] of her show, as well as her manager.”
The source went on to add that Clarkson will need time to heel from this, as she had thought she’d be with Blackstock forever.
“Kelly’s been through a lot, and she thought Brandon was her happily ever after,” said the source. “It’s very sad.”
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