Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock Officially Finalize Divorce Nearly 2 Years After Split

Just call her Miss Independent—Kelly Clarkson finalized her divorce from Brandon Blackstock nearly two years after first filing paperwork to dissolve her marriage to the talent manager.

By Gabrielle Chung Mar 09, 2022 10:22 PMTags

Kelly Clarkson has officially broken away from Brandon Blackstock.

The former couple have finally finalized their divorce, according to court document obtained by E! News. The filing states that Kelly—who shares daughter River, 7, and son Remington, 5, with Brandon—will make a one-time, non-taxable payment of $1,326,161 to her ex.

As continual payments, Kelly will give Brandon $115,000 per month until Jan. 31, 2024, as spousal support, as well as pay him $45,601 per month in child support.

Furthermore, the talk show host will make a one-time $50,000 payment to Brandon to reimburse him for their children's private air travel costs.

However, Brandon will be making payments of his own as well, agreeing to pay a monthly total of $14,500 as rent to stay at two of Kelly's properties in Montana. Per the docs, he is expected to vacate the properties by June 1.

The two will continue to share joint legal custody of the kids, with Kelly having primary physical custody in Los Angeles.

 

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The divorce settlement comes nearly two years after the "Since U Been Gone" singer first filed paperwork to dissolve her marriage to the talent manager, citing irreconcilable differences. At the time, Kelly had been married to Brandon for over six years, with a source telling E! News that the split "came out of nowhere."

In September 2020, she addressed her divorce from Brandon during an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, sharing, "What I'm dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart. It involves a lot of little hearts." Kelly added she and Brandon were "both from divorced families, so we know the best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts."

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That November, a judge ruled the two will share joint legal and physical custody amid divorce proceedings, with Kelly having primary physical custody of the kids in Los Angeles and Brandon having visitations during certain weekends, holidays and school breaks. In April 2021, Kelly was ordered to pay her ex a total of $195,601 per month in spousal and child support.

As time passed, however, the pair began to contend over control of the $10.4 million Montana ranch where Brandon had been living since the breakup. According to a court filing previously obtained by E! News, Kelly owns the property but Brandon was "exclusively using" it as his "residence and business" after becoming a full-time rancher. Last October, a judge rejected Brandon's request to make the ranch a marital property that should be shared equally by both exes and instead upheld the duo's premarital agreement, giving Kelly full control.

Earlier this year, the American Idol alum became legally single after a judge signed off on her to dissolve her marital status while settling aspects of her divorce.

Since then, Kelly has filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court to legally change her name to Kelly Brianne, using her middle name as her surname. In the filing, per Today, Kelly said she had a "desire" to change her name to one that "more fully reflects who I am."

E! News has reached out to their lawyers for comment.