Kelly Clarkson's lingering absence from her talk show had fans worried earlier this year, but it turned out that the episodes she missed were because her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, was seriously ill. The couple divorced in 2020, and while Clarkson has spoken about that challenging time in her life on a few occasions, she never mentioned that Blackstock ended up dating her production assistant, Brittney Marie Jones. He remained in a relationship with Jones until his death on August 7, 2025.
When
the two started dating isn't clear, but when Clarkson filed for divorce in 2020, Jones coincidentally accepted an executive assistant position at Blackstock's ranch that same month. Of course, there's no telling if there was a budding romance between Blackstock and his soon-to-be ex-wife's assistant at the time, but the timing is rather strange. One thing's certain, however, and that's that Clarkson lost her husband and her assistant, who worked for her since 2016, around the same time, which must have been hard, especially given that Clarkson's divorce sparked a nasty legal battle with Blackstock.
Sources told People that her divorce from Blackstock was very hard on Clarkson. "The divorce was incredibly difficult for her — messy, painful and something she felt terrible about," they told the outlet. Clarkson once confessed on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that, aside from their split, co-parenting with Blackstock was also challenging because "we're in different places."
Read more: Tragic Details About The Pentatonix Members
Blackstock's Death Is Weighing Heavy On Clarkson
Insiders are saying that Kelly Clarkson will never be the same after the death of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock. Speaking to Page Six, sources claimed Clarkson has been going through a really rough time even before Blackstock's death. As he battled cancer, the singer grappled with what life would look like with him gone — she was going to be a single mother and lose someone who was once the love of her life. "Kelly's personal life is so insanely complicated," one source said. "The divorce was beyond toxic and the continuing relationship with Brandon was not good — it was incredibly tense and fraught, and co-parenting with him was not at all easy."
Despite all of this, insiders allege that Clarkson is devastated by her ex-husband's death and that the situation is made all the more difficult for her because she's navigating the loss of her former husband while her children are grieving the loss of their father. "Kelly's life has flipped upside down with Brandon's cancer struggles and now death," one insider told the Daily Mail. "She feels both a little lost and feels like she has to do everything to make it all make sense. This is going to stick with her forever."
Read the original article on The List.
