The Shady Side Of Kelly Clarkson's Ex-Husband Brandon Blackstock

In June 2020, singer Kelly Clarkson announced her divorce from Brandon Blackstock — and more than three years later, we can officially say that he's a lot shadier than we thought. The "American Idol" winner, who cited "irreconcilable differences" on her court documents, said on the "Angie Martinez IRL" podcast that it wasn't a decision she made lightly. "Divorce rips you apart," Clarkson shared. "Whenever you fall in love with someone — and it doesn't work." In a 2020 appearance on The "Today" Show, the songstress reiterated that divorce was something she never expected. "You see yourself growing old with someone, and then life has a different path. It's so hard on everyone," she told host Hoda Kotb. Reading between the lines, it seems like divorce from Blackstock was inevitable for Clarkson, which again brings us to his shady behavior.

Per Stylecaster, court documents revealed that the split was at least partly due to "issues of trust between them," which many took as proof that Blackstock had cheated on Clarkson. After the divorce, Fox News reported that Blackstock's father's talent company, Starstruck Management Group, sued Clarkson for unpaid commissions and breach of contract. Clarkson countersued and won a major legal battle, but a legal suit isn't the hallmark of an amicable divorce, right? Page Six also uncovered instances where Blackstock had insulted his ex by implying that she wasn't "sexy" enough to appear on NBC's "The Voice." (Clarkson had the last laugh there.) Re: Blackstock's shadiness, there's a lot to unpack.

While no one explicitly confirmed cheating in Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson's relationship, there are some pretty telling claims. Let's go back to when Blackstock was accused of cheating on his first wife, Melissa Ashworth, according to the now-defunct gossip website The Dirty (via the Daily Mail). An anonymous source claimed, "[Brandon and I] haven't slept together, but we've been intimate in other ways," which Ashworth blasted as untrue. Then, in 2013, CelebDirtyLaundry noted that The Dirty verified an account in which Blackstock stepped out on his (pregnant!) then-wife, Clarkson. According to the anonymous source, "[At an afterparty], Brandon approached a group of my friends ... We all went back to his hotel room and had more drinks. My friends left but I stayed behind and yes, we had sex that night." They continued, "I even asked him about Kelly and his reply was, 'She ain't gotta know. This kind of thing happens in this business all the time.'"

While Clarkson herself tweeted that the story wasn't true, it didn't stop the rumors. Per OK!, Blackstock was continually accused of being a serial cheater, and many speculated that he'd begun seeing Clarkson while he was still married to Ashworth. None of it sat well with Clarkson. "Kelly's suspected Brandon of cheating on her for a long, long time. Whenever she confronted him about it, he denied it. But Kelly was never completely convinced. Her feeling was that, where there's smoke, there's fire," a source told The National Enquirer (via Micky).

A supportive partner is always happy for their significant other to succeed, but this wasn't true for Brandon Blackstock. Instead, he seemingly resented that Kelly Clarkson was the bigger name in his marriage. "[Kelly] was the high-income earner with a wildly successful talk show, and is the star of another hit show 'The Voice.' Brandon was extremely jealous of it and made her know it," a source dished to Us Weekly. It was only after the divorce that Clarkson "[could] finally enjoy her success without feeling ashamed," they continued. The insider further divulged that their relationship had been rough for a while, as the "Breakaway" singer began to feel that her ex was using her. "The marriage was really, really awful at the end. Kelly felt that she could no longer trust Brandon. She had a lot of questions that he just couldn't answer," they added.

Blackstock appeared to have made his feelings known because Clarkson struggled to cope in the midst of their split. "I mean, it's no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster," the Grammy winner said on the "Sunday Today" show. "Personally, it's been a little hard the last couple months."

If we're going to talk about all the times Brandon Blackstock insulted his ex, we have to include that time he told Kelly Clarkson she wasn't attractive enough to make it on live TV. As reported by The New York Post, Clarkson testified in court that she had long told Blackstock she wanted to be on "The Voice." Rather than encouraging her, Blackstock told the singer that network executives wouldn't go for her "because they were looking for a more sex symbol type [like Rihanna]." Additionally, he maintained that his ex-wife wouldn't fit the bill because "NBC had to have someone that was black. ... They had to have a diverse thing." These are painful comments for Blackstock to have made, and Clarkson remembers them that way too. "A wife doesn't forget a time she gets told she's not a sex symbol, so that stays," she told her lawyer.

Turns out, the joke's on Blackstock. Clarkson was a mainstay on "The Voice" from Season 14 through Season 21. Not only did she experience great success on the show with four wins from nine seasons, but she is beloved among fans, who wasted no time in slamming Blackstock's shady comments. "Imagine being married to Kelly Clarkson, fabulous, independently wealthy, wildly talented Kelly Goddamn Clarkson and being dumb enough to tell her she's not sexy enough to be on The Voice. What a dumb dumb stupid head," one person tweeted.

In response to Starstruck Management Group's legal suit, Kelly Clarkson filed a fraud claim against Brandon Blackstock — who was also her manager at the time, per OK!. The countersuit alleged that Blackstock and his father leveraged their company as "a fraudulent and subterfuge device" to "perform illegal services as agents." In short, Blackstock overstepped the boundaries of what he was allowed to do as Clarkson's manager, attempting instead to act as her talent agent. As reported by People, "Under the Talent Agencies Act (TAA), a manager, like any person without a talent agency license, cannot procure or attempt to procure employment for artists."

Blackstock made hefty commissions on the gigs he set up for his then-wife, including contracts with "The Voice," Wayfair, Norwegian Cruise Line, and the Billboard Music Awards. In December 2023, a California labor commissioner ruled in Clarkson's favor, meaning Blackstock was ordered to pay back everything he earned in management fees. It added up to an eye-watering total of $2.6 million, but Blackstock may have lost a lot of integrity along with those dollar bills.

Given that Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock's divorce took a nasty turn, it's not surprising that the former couple don't speak to each other. However, this does make co-parenting their two children, River Rose and Remington, a bit challenging. "It's tough ... It's just a difficult thing because we're in different places," Clarkson said on the set of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" in 2021. As of 2023, Clarkson is based in New York, while Blackstock lives in Montana. Clarkson and Blackstock also try their best not to interact directly. "Kelly and Brandon don't communicate directly regarding the kids. They use a computer program that is popular between divorcing parents involved in contentious proceedings," a source told Us Weekly in 2021.

Aside from Blackstock's co-parenting clash with his ex, it's telling that other celebrities have quietly taken Clarkson's side amid the divorce proceedings. For example, Blake Shelton was previously managed by Starstruck Management Group, and cut ties with Blackstock following his split from Clarkson, as Radar noted. Apparently, Shelton and Clarkson even celebrated together on "The Voice" after getting the news that a judge found her prenup with Blackstock to be valid. Shady behavior never pays — and we mean that literally.