Kelly Clarkson has been waiting for a moment like this…a summer off, that is.
As a singer, talk show host and mother of two fresh off an eight-season run on The Voice, Clarkson keeps quite busy. And during an Aug. 22 interview on Today, the "Since U Been Gone" star shared she just had her first summer break from work in years, spending the much-needed few months off with her family.
"I hadn't had a minute and it's obviously been a rough couple of years," Clarkson told Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly. "So it was really important to me to, like, shut down for a minute."
Those "rough couple of years" have included Clarkson's divorce from Brandon Blackstock. The American Idol alum filed for divorce from the talent manager in 2020 after almost seven years of marriage, finalizing it earlier this year. They share two children together—daughter River, 8, and son Remington, 6—and Clarkson said she and her ex were both in Montana this summer with their kids.
"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."
Clarkson said she enjoyed four-wheeling, going on walks and just spending time in nature with her kids, her sister, her nephew and some friends in Montana. And she can't believe how fast her children are growing up.
"She's like up here, and she's 8," Clarkson said about River's height. "She's so tall. And Remy is, god, he's such a little man. I love him so much."
With summer wrapping up, River and Remy will soon be heading back to school. "This is the first year they're going to the same school because he's now in kindergarten," Clarkson shared. "He's very excited about the big playground."
While Clarkson has spoken a little bit about her divorce before, she and Blackstock have mostly remained tight-lipped about their split for the sake of their children (he also has two kids from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth).
"What I'm dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart. It involves a lot of little hearts," Clarkson said on a 2020 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. "We have four kids, and divorce is never easy. And we're both from divorced families so we know the best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts."
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