Why Did Kelly Clarkson Divorce Ex-Husband Brandon Blackstock

Insiders have offered up additional reasons for Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock‘s 2020 divorce after his August death.

On August 7, the 48-year-old talent manager passed away from cancer, days after Clarkson revealed that she postponed her Las Vegas residency to spend time with their children, daughter River, 11, and son Remington, 9, amid their father’s health battle.

“The divorce was incredibly difficult for her — messy, painful and something she felt terrible about,” a source told People. “But she always wanted her kids to have the best relationship possible with their dad. She never spoke poorly about Brandon to the kids.”

Clarkson, 43, married Blackstock in 2013. After their marriage, Blackstock, who was already Blake Shelton’s manager, became Clarkson’s talent manager, overseeing her partnerships, some of her time on The Voice, and even encouraging her to host her own show, which became The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Things took a turn when Clarkson filed for divorce in 2020, unearthing issues in their marriage. So, what was the reason for Clarkson and Blackstock’s divorce?

Clarkson cited “irreconcilable differences” in her June 2020 divorce filing, which was filed just a few short months after the couple retreated to Montana to quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clarkson has never revealed the exact reason for her divorce filing but a source told the Daily Mail in August that “a point of no return” in their marriage caused Clarkson to finally pull the plug. “He was a great father, but wasn’t a great husband,” the source added.

After his death, it was revealed that Blackstock was in a relationship with Clarkson’s former assistant, Brittney Marie Jones, who seemingly relocated to Montana, the same month Clarkson filed for divorce.

Daily Mail’s source said that Blackstock moving on with someone she trusted “was just the icing on the cake of the disappointment [Clarkson] felt over the delusion of their marriage.”

“Brandon chose to move on with someone Kelly knew and trusted, and that just adds to the person he ended up being to her,” the source said before confirming. “Kelly knew that Brittney wasn’t going to be a problem with her and her kids; there was never a misunderstanding between them.”

In November 2020, Clarkson was awarded primary physical custody of their two children, with court documents at the time revealing “the level of conflict between the parents [had] increased” and that they had “a difficult time co-parenting due to issues of trust between them.”

Clarkson was later ordered to pay her ex around $150,000 per month in spousal support, but soon launched a bombshell lawsuit accusing Blackstock of overcharging her and unlawfully procuring business deals as her talent manager.

The scathing lawsuit claimed Blackstock told her she wasn’t “sexy” enough to be a judge on The Voice. Blackstock was ordered to pay Clarkson $2.6 million over the unlawful deals.

Despite their issues, insiders have noted that Clarkson was privately supportive of Blackstock in his final months and never spoke ill of Blackstock to their children.

Before you go, click here to see 19 facts about Kelly Clarkson you didn’t already know.