After a difficult life event, it is natural to want a fresh start. Kelly Clarkson decided to move to New York City after her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. This made her anxious at first.
Kelly had to move not only herself but also her two children, Remington "Remy," age 7, and River Rose, age 9, and her entire talk show. It was a lot to take on. Now that she has had some time to settle in the Big Apple, she is so happy she took the plunge.
Kelly was worried she was making a big mistake moving to the city. "I'll be real honest: I thought I was making a horrible decision," Kelly told USA Today. "I knew I needed a fresh start and couldn’t be in LA. 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.'"
Once Kelly actually did the thing, she ended up being pleasantly surprised. "I genuinely love it, and I love that my kids love it," she gushed. The Kelly Clarkson Show now calls a studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza home. Season five premiered on October 16, 2023.
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Unlike Drew Barrymore, Kelly stood in solidarity with writers during the Writer’s Guild of America strike. She chose to shut down season four of her show early in support. "I felt in my gut, 'This is what we should do,' so we made the decision as a team to end season four and stand with them," she explained.
It was not easy to come to that decision. "I had a lot of hard conversations with people like, 'Hey, we don't know if the show is going to make it if you don't come back,'” she explained. “But that's gotta be the hard decision, and it sucks. I don't think people realize, with a lot of the people that got blowback, the stress of that decision." Perhaps she was subtly alluding to Drew.
Kelly’s show premiered in 2019. Both Kelly and the world have gone through so much since then. Kelly separated from Brandon in 2020 and their divorce was finalized in 2022. She was often struggling personally during her painful divorce. "Full disclosure, I put on a smile a lot of those times because I was struggling a lot in my personal life," she confessed.
Even though it was difficult, Kelly felt like she grew so much during that period of her life. "I've learned a lot about what I'm capable of handling, and also what you should not handle," she explained. She decided to step away from The Voice.
"That was me saying 'bye' to The Voice and having this big move," she continued. "I love that family, but I was like, 'I'm struggling. I can't smile anymore. I don't feel like smiling.'"
Kelly is looking forward to the future and feels better than ever mentally. "What's cool for me with season five is I am in such a great place, not only with my kids, but with me personally and with the show," she stated. "I feel like a weight has lifted. That move was very needed."
