Kelly Clarkson & Brandon Blackstock: relationship timeline
On Thursday, it was announced that Brandon Blackstock tragically died at the age of 48 after a three year battle with cancer. Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock were married for nearly seven years before calling it quits in June 2020.
Find out how and when they met, how many kids they have, and a whole lot more you didn’t know!
MAY 2006
Kelly and Brandon’s first-time meeting! The duo first met at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards. She told PEOPLE in 2013, "I've only had three other boyfriends that I dated, and not really seriously. This guy walks by, making everybody laugh. I said, 'I'm gonna end up with him. I know it.’”
Kelly continued, "My guitar player's wife, Ashley, was my date for that night and we had just both been in crap relationships. Sometimes it sucks dating because it's so many wrong ones until you get the right one. And we were like, 'OK, what we've been doing wrong here' — because it was a country music event and we're both southern girls — we were like, 'We've been dating skinny jeans and we need Wranglers.'"
"Literally, I'm not joking, he walked past us at that time. And he walked by, I was ready to take it all off. I just felt something," Clarkson admits.
But at this time, Blackstock was married to then-wife Melissa Ashworth, though they split in 2012.
FEBRUARY 5, 2012
Clarkson and Blackstock reconnect 6 years later at the Super Bowl. The “American Idol” winner performed the national anthem at the big game and Blake Shelton, who Blackstock managed, was singing “America the Beautiful.”
"I was so nervous because it wasn't that I didn't want to suck for the millions of people watching, I didn't want to suck because I was trying to impress a guy," Clarkson joked to SiriusXM in 2017, per PEOPLE. "I wanted him to be like, 'Damn.' It had nothing to do with the Super Bowl!"
“The Voice” coach adds, “We didn't even know each other, but he had walked past me once and there was a moment in my crazy head. He thought I hated him, too. When I finally confessed that, 'I really dig you,' he was so shocked because he thought I hated him. I hadn't let on that I liked him. Inside, I was like, 'Ask me out!' but outside, I was like, 'I love being single and coming home every night alone. It's awesome.'"
FEBRUARY 11, 2012
Kelly and Brandon go on their first date.
In 2013, Clarkson recalled her first date with Brandon, the same day Whitney Houston died.
"This is the funniest/worst thing ever: One of my superhero idols is Whitney Houston, and the day she died was our first date. I was like, 'This is a bad omen.'”
DECEMBER 14, 2012
Kelly and Brandon get engaged.
Announcing the news on Twitter, the talk show host posted, “I’M ENGAGED!!!!! I wanted y’all to know!! Happiest night of my life last night! I am so lucky and am with the greatest man ever.”
The pair were relaxing at their Nashville home one evening when "Out of nowhere, I just said, 'Thanks for being an awesome guy.' I've never been loved properly by a man, and I was just like, 'I thank you so much for that.'”
Shortly after her sweet sentiments, Brandon got down on one knee and Kelly didn’t have “a damn clue [he was proposing]! If I did, I would have worn something besides Uggs and a sweatshirt with no bra.”
OCTOBER 20, 2013
Kelly and Brandon get married!
The couple announced the news on Twitter by saying, "I'm officially Mrs. Blackstock :) We got married yesterday at Blackberry Farms in TN, the most beautiful place ever!"
NOVEMBER 19, 2013
Kelly and Brandon reveal they’re expecting their first baby!
Clarkson said she was predicting her first child would be a girl, "I'm totally gonna have a girl. I'm manifesting it! And when I have a girl, you're gonna be like, 'That chick knew it!'”
And she was right! In January 2014, the singer announced, "We just found out we're having a girl officially!" she tweeted. "I knew it! Only a girl could cause this much drama with all this vomiting, ha!"
JUNE 12, 2014
Kelly and Brandon welcome their first baby.
"Our baby girl River Rose Blackstock arrived on June 12th!" Clarkson tweeted. "Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes! Brandon and I are on cloud 9!!"
AUGUST 19, 2015
Kelly and Brandon reveal they’re expecting their second child!
Clarkson announced her second pregnancy during a concert in Los Angeles. She got caught up in emotions while introducing her song “Piece by Piece.”
"I was not planning on announcing this, but I'm totally pregnant. I'm having a really hard time," she said.
"I'm gonna nail the s--- out of this song. That was not how I wanted to announce that I hate this song right now," she joked while wiping away tears.
Once she finished the song, she quipped, "I'd like to apologize to my husband. That was not planned. I just didn't want you to think I was crazy or something. Honestly, I'm just so hormonal today. I haven't vomited yet. That is a freakin' win, y'all."
APRIL 12, 2016
Kelly and Brandon welcome their second child!
The couple tweeted out the announcement of the birth of their second child, "Meet Remy, our newest [addition] to the family!"
They also shared some black and white photos of the couple meeting their newborn son for the first time.
NOVEMBER 3, 2017
Kelly opens up about her attraction to Brandon.
“This isn't a downer to anybody I dated before him, but I'm just going to be real: I never felt like, honestly, sexually attracted to anybody before him. And I'm not downing my exes. You know, everybody's different. But there was something about him," she tells SiriusXM.
"I honestly thought I was asexual — I'd never been turned on like that in my whole life. I was like, 'Oh, that's that feeling OK! That's what they were talking about in Waiting to Exhale.' I just got it. I just didn't have a clue."
AUGUST 2019
Brandon encourages Kelly to host her own show
"What's funny about Brandon and I is we have, well, the same temper, the same amount of like, 'OK cool I was wrong. That was me,’” she said.
"Even the show here, he has his own office. I have my own office. And he's always on the phone ... he's always working," she said. "When we vacation — we just took our first family vacation and had a really good chunk of time because we knew things were about to be really busy. He goes off and does stuff with the kids, and then I'll do something else with the other two. We do a really good job of being like, 'I need some me time.' "
APRIL 2020
Kelly and Brandon quarantine in Montana together.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the family revealed that they were staying together with all of their children at their Montana ranch, "It's a really beautiful ranch, and it's a nice getaway for our family," she said of their extended time there. "It's something Brandon and I have dreamed about since we were both kids. This is what we would call home."
JUNE 4, 2020
Kelly files for divorce from Brandon.
After nearly seven years of marriage, Clarkson filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
OCTOBER 2020
Kelly shares that her kids are her priority amidst divorce.
"The thing that's been kind of hard to navigate is I am an open book, but at some point, I'm a mama bear more than I am a person in the public eye. So I care 100 percent more about my children than I do anything else on this planet,” she says.
She added, "So that's been the hard thing of, yes, I'm willing to share my experience and, yes, it is the worst. The past few months have been horribly sad. But at the same time, I have to think, 'Hmmm, what I say has a domino effect in other people's lives.'"
NOVEMBER 2020
Kelly is granted primary physical custody of her and Brandon’s children.
Court documents revealed at the time that "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.”
"As Kelly has said, her first priority in all of this is to take care of the kids and all the hearts that are involved in this divorce," another source said. "It's been a hard time for everyone, but Kelly's pleased with the court's ruling regarding custody.”
Blackstock wanted $301,000 in spousal support and $135,000 in monthly child support. (A judge later ruled that Clarkson would pay $200,000 monthly in both spousal and child support.)
AUGUST 2021
Kelly is legally single!
A judge approved the dissolution of Clarkson and Blackstock’s marriage. "She is doing great and facing forward," a source told PEOPLE at the time. "She's enjoying the fact that she has the kids for the vast majority of the time and is enjoying time spent with them."
JANUARY 20, 2022
Kelly gives Brandon 5% of their Montana Ranch
The couple’s ranch in Montana was a point of contention during their bitter divorce. An L.A. county judge awarded Clarkson ownership of the property as it fell within their prenup. At this time, Blackstock was living at the home and claimed it was “marital property.”
But after losing a legal fight to evict Brandon from the ranch, court documents reveal Kelly agreed to give up 5.12% of the ranch, which represents $908,800 of its total $17,750,000 value.
MARCH 2022
Kelly and Brandon finalize their divorce.
Nearly two years after the singer filed for divorce, it’s finally finalized. Per court documents, Clarkson was ordered to pay her ex a large one-time payment of just over $1.3 million, as well as monthly spousal and child support payments.
SEPTEMBER 2022
Kelly shared details on her post-divorce album.
Clarkson admitted that her divorce inspired numerous songs for her upcoming album, "When my ex and I first separated, there were many emotions. It was hard. My producer and I were laughing yesterday because I was like, 'Remember that time we wrote, like, 25 songs in a week?' A lot of those are the ones that are on the album,” she tells Variety.
MARCH 13, 2023
Kelly opens up about her decision to divorce Brandon.
"I think the thing about divorce — especially having it publicized, and people thinking they know the whole thing — the hardest part of that is, like, it wasn't an overnight decision," the singer said on Angie Martinez’s “IRL” podcast.
"I wanted to make it beautiful. I wanted to make it awesome. I wanted to make it everything it possibly could be, and sometimes that just doesn't happen."
"I literally ask my kids every night when we're snuggling up in the bed, 'Are you happy? And if you're not, what could make you happier?' " she shared. "A lot of times they'll be like, 'You know, I'm just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house.’ "
Clarkson added, "They're really honest about it. I get it. I'm from a divorced family as well. It sucks."
JUNE 13, 2023
Kelly admits that her kids still hope she and Brandon will reconcile
Clarkson was very open about not wanting to divorce Blackstock, all for the sake of their kids.
"Your kids will still have a hard time. It doesn't matter if you stay, it doesn't matter if you go, I am still having conversations [with my kids] three years later," Clarkson said. "My kids just came back from my ex and any time there's mention of maybe him being with somebody else...they are just really adamant about keeping that dream alive that we might still be together one day,” she tells Glennon Doyle’s podcast “We Can Do Hard Things.”
JUNE 22, 2023
Kelly was about to perform at the 57th ACM Awards tribute to Dolly Parton when she received a text that her divorce was finalized.
"I'm looking at Dolly Parton and I'm like, I had just gotten my text of like, 'Hey, your divorce is final, like you’ve both signed,' " the singer explained. "Like, right before getting on a stage to sing 'I Will Always Love You.' I was like, 'Screw you, universe.' That's the timing?” she tells Andy Cohen.
DECEMBER 1, 2023
Brandon is ordered to pay Kelly $2.6 million
Brandon was ordered to pay Clarkson $2,641,371 for unlawfully procuring deals as her manager, which should have been handled by a talent agent, as shown in documents obtained by PEOPLE. This includes contracts with “The Voice,” “Wayfair” and the “Billboard Music Awards.”
JANUARY 2024
Kelly opens up about writing her album, “Chemistry,” about her divorce.
Writing “Chemistry” was a way for Kelly to “take my power back,” she tells PEOPLE.
“I didn’t see it other than: This is my outlet. I’m a let-go person; I don’t hold grudges. So it was really delving into what happened in my life and why—and what am I going to do about it?” she said. “I cannot express how appreciative I feel for having that kind of healthy outlet. Because the level of depression and things that come with divorce or grieving is extraordinarily hard. You feel alone, and it’s just a blessing to be able to have that outlet for those emotions that are overwhelming."
MARCH 11, 2024
Kelly files a new lawsuit against Brandon and the management company Starstruck.
After Blackstock was ordered to pay Clarkson $2.6 million, Clarkson filed a new lawsuit claiming she is entitled to more money.
Clarkson is asking for a “full and complete accounting from Starstruck of all monies received by Starstruck, directly or indirectly, in connection with any and all contracts, employment, or engagements pertaining in any way to the personal services of [Clarkson]," which may include commissions, fees, profits, advances and producing fees.
Less than two months later, Clarkson and Blackstock settled their lawsuits when they both withdrew their cases in early May 2024.
MARCH 27, 2025
Kelly makes rare comments about co-parenting with Brandon.
"There's a lot that I keep in because ... co-parenting is fun," she quipped. "It's like, 'Oh, he couldn't come because this,' and I'm like, 'Okay, cool.' Do you think I just leave and just sit in the park all day?"Kelly tells Kylie Kelce on her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast.
AUGUST 7, 2025
Brandon passed away after a battle with cancer at 48 years old.
The family made the announcement in a statement that read, "It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away. Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family's privacy during this very difficult time.”
