Earlier this year, after months of messy legal wrangling, Kelly Clarkson finalized her divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
Yes, Kelly’s ex has a villainous-sounding name, and he’s fully lived up to it in recent months.
The divorce settlement wasn’t ideal — Clarkson was forced to pay millions to Blackstock — but hey, at least it’s all over with.
Of course, the split took an emotional toll on Clarkson.
In fact, it seems that she felt the need to step away from certain professional obligations in order to focus on her family.
We recently learned that Clarkson will not be returning to The Voice for the show’s 22nd season.
We’re sure plenty of viewers are disappointed, but it’s not all bad news.
For one thing, Kelly is being replaced by fellow A-lister Camila Cabello.
On top of that, Clarkson stepped down from the gig in order to devote more time and energy to her mental health and her children.
“I hadn’t had a minute and it’s obviously been a rough couple of years,” Kelly explained in a recent interview with the Today show’s Hoda Kotb.
Clarkson explained that over the summer, when she would have been filming blind auditions for The Voice, she was instead spending quality time with her kids in Montana.
“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.”
Clearly, Kelly is prioritizing the really important things in life, and it seems that she has the full support of her devoted fanbase.
And if you’re a fan of watching Kelly on television, fear not — you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do exactly that in the very near future.
With the retirement of Ellen DeGeneres, Kelly’s talk show will be moving into the timeslot previously occupied by the reigning Queen of Daytime.
So Kelly might have suffered some setbacks in her personal life in recent years, but she’s about to take a massive step forward in her career.
Obviously, fans would prefer that she not have to go through all the pain she’s endured because of her ex.
But they love her all the more because of how candid she’s been about everything.
Through good times and bad, Kelly tells it like it is.
As much as her music, that candor has made Clarkson one of the most successful media personalities on the planet.
And it will no doubt serve her well as she continues to turn tragedy into triumph in the next stage of her career.
