Heavy/Getty Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson attend Billboard's Women in Music event in November 2017
Music superstar Kelly Clarkson is excited for all the good things coming her way in 2024 — including having a little more money left in her pocket at the end of each month. With the arrival of the new year, the original “American Idol” gets to stop sending hefty spousal support payments each month to ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, per Us Weekly.
Two years after filing for divorce, Clarkson agreed in their March 2022 settlement to pay Blackstock $115,000 a month until January 2024. A source close to Clarkson told Us Weekly that she is “feeling relieved that her spousal support to Brandon has come to an end.”
“Kelly’s looking at this as a fresh start and she couldn’t be happier for a clean slate in 2024,” the insider added.
In a People interview published on January 3, Clarkson said that releasing her 2022 album “chemistry,” written as she was going through her divorce, felt like “taking my power back.”
But Clarkson still has some financial headaches ahead stemming from her divorce, including dealing with Blackstock’s appeal of a recent ruling in California that he owes the singer and talk show host over $2.6 million for commissions he was not certified to earn when he worked as her manager.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kelly Clarkson Will Continue to Pay Child Support, Though She Has Primary Custody
GettyKelly Clarkson with her children, River and Remington Blackstock, attend the singer’s Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star Ceremony in September 2022
Clarkson filed for divorce in June 2020, which began a two-year legal battle with Blackstock over property, finances and custody of their children, daughter River, 9, and son Remington, 7.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Clarkson was granted primary custody of their kids but also agreed to pay $45,601 a month in child support until the children “reach the age of 18,” graduate high school or become self-supporting.
That monthly fee was on top of Blackstock’s monthly spousal support of $115,000 and a one-time tax-free fee of $1,326,161. But Clarkson got to keep her beloved Montana ranch, their house in Toluca Lake, California, and the family pets.
Clarkson has since switched coasts, moving her kids and production of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” from Los Angeles to New York City.
“I knew I needed a fresh start and couldn’t be in LA,” she told USA Today in October. “I really wanted to be in Montana, but you can’t really do a show from there quite yet. So I was like, ‘The only other option would probably be New York.'”
Brandon Blackstock Has Appealed Commissioner’s Ruling That He Owes $2.6 Million to Kelly Clarkson
GettyKelly Clarkson performs during the Rockefeller Center’s annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in New York on November 29, 2023.
Clarkson still has one more unresolved financial matter stemming from her divorce. Blackstock has appealed a recent ruling in California that he owes her over $2.6 million for commissions he made while acting as her manager.
Clarkson’s legal team accused Blackstock of “overreaching in his role” by handling tasks that were the responsibility of her talent agents at Creative Artists Agency, according to Today. In late November, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement agreed and ordered Blackstock to return $2,641,374 worth of commissions.
But Blackstock has filed an appeal with Los Angeles Superior Court, per Today, and requested a trial “de novo,” in which a judge would hear the case with each party able to present evidence and witnesses.
Despite the setback, Clarkson is feeling grateful to be on the other side of her divorce and thriving with her kids in New York.
“Sometimes you don’t know what life has in store for you, and you think your life is going to go one way, and it’s OK that it doesn’t,” she told People. “You never know how beautiful that might be.”