On Aug. 23, Kelly Clarkson<\/strong> was photographed arriving at LAX airport with her sister Alyssa<\/strong> and kids, River<\/strong>, 11, and Remington<\/strong>, 9. Dressed in black sweats, a matching cowboy hat and dark sunglasses, the makeup-free singer appeared somber during her first public outing since the Aug. 7 death of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock<\/strong>, 48, after a long battle with melanoma.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been an excruciating few weeks for the star. Despite her acrimonious split from Brandon in 2020 following seven years of marriage, she had pulled back on work commitments as his health declined for the sake of her kids. On Aug. 6, she ultimately postponed her Las Vegas residency. \u201cMy children\u2019s father has been ill,\u201d she wrote on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cAnd at this moment I need to be fully present for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, a source tells Star<\/em> the 43-year-old \u201cStronger\u201d singer is slowly picking up the pieces and doing her best to create a sense of normality for River and Remington as she adjusts to life as a single mom. Season 7 of her hit chat fest The Kelly Clarkson Show<\/em> will premiere in the fall (production was set to begin in early September) and she began shooting season 29 of The Voice<\/em> during the week of Aug. 20 after missing an earlier taping. \u201cKelly is looking forward to going back to work, if only to take her mind off the tragedy,\u201d says the source. \u201cHaving a sense of routine and being back in a busy environment will do her good, or so she hopes.\u201d<\/p>\n Her world has been turned upside down for months. She missed 10 tapings of Kelly<\/em> between March 3 and April 1, leading fans and media to speculate about her absence. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d says the source of balancing career and home life. \u201cShe had to step up to take extra care of the kids and still find a way to hold herself together and somehow cope with her jam-packed work schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n It was especially challenging given her history with Brandon. Their contentious divorce and custody agreement was finalized in 2022, with Kelly being forced to fork over a onetime payment of $1.3 million to her ex as well as $115,000 per month in spousal support until January 2024 and $45,000 in monthly child support until their children turn 18. It wasn\u2019t just the divorce. In 2023, a court ruled that Brandon had to pay Kelly $2.6 million for illegally procuring business deals for her while he was her manager. As an added blow, Brandon\u2019s obituary revealed that he had been dating Kelly\u2019s former assistant Brittney Marie Jones<\/strong>, who worked for her until 2018 and then Kelly and Brandon until 2020.<\/p>\n Despite all that, as Star<\/em> previously reported, Kelly had been willing to walk away from her beloved show so she could be a source of strength for her kids. \u201cUltimately this was a man who treated her incredibly badly, so it would have been bittersweet to throw in the towel on her job in order to take care of him,\u201d says the source. \u201cKelly felt sorry for Brandon and it wasn\u2019t in question that she would do right by him.\u201d (The singer did get her digs in, famously switching up the lyrics to \u201cabcdefu\u201d during a Kellyoke segment to take a swipe at her ex and exploring the \u201carc of their relationship\u201d on her 2023 album, Chemistry<\/em>, per People<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n In the end, she was able to put aside her mixed feelings in order to do what was best for her children. \u201cKelly and Brandon\u2019s split was toxic, but it didn\u2019t stop Kelly from putting her resentment aside,\u201d says the source. \u201cHe was the father to her kids and they adored him, and she knew it was important for her to step up and show a Christian attitude. Everyone in Kelly\u2019s world would agree she\u2019s been absolutely magnificent these past few months,\u201d adds the source. \u201cThe strength and courage she\u2019s shown is nothing short of heroic.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, it\u2019s back to business. Her four-part NBC music series Songs and Stories With Kelly Clarkson<\/em> debuted on Aug. 19 while her Vegas residency is scheduled to resume next summer. She\u2019s determined to make things work between caring for her kids full-time and growing her career. \u201cKelly will see how it all goes for a while then decide on what will work in the long term,\u201d says the source. \u201cShe feels confident that this is something she can manage, but only time will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.starmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/feat_clarkson_NUP_200287_00589-1.JPG_master-scaled-e1756924404802.jpg\")
Complicated History<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Work Mode<\/strong><\/h2>\n