coping

KELLY Clarkson has given a rare glimpse at her family life with her two children following the death of their father, Brandon Blackstock. 

The TV host and Breakaway singer, 43, has been keeping her children River, 11, and nine-year-old Remington (known as Remy) away from the spotlight, even more so since Brandon died in August last year.

While she never addressed him directly, a new video on the YouTube Channel for The Kelly Clarkson Show saw the star speak a bit about what life looks like now for them. 

Speaking in a Q+A, Kelly was asked by a fan: “’What is the one thing you do every day that brings you joy?” 

As Kelly was getting final touches of make-up put on her before going on stage, she beamed as she said: “Snuggle. Oh my God. My kids… look, they’re nine and eleven, they’re that special little fun stage where they can wipe their own behinds, but they’re still small enough to, like, love cuddling and love snuggles.” 

“There’s been a lot for our family recently, and so I have allowed my kids to sleep with me quite a bit,” she added. “So it’s my two dogs, my two kids and me. It’s a lot.

“It’s been really special though, because the conversations you have during that time are pretty cute. So that’s probably my favorite time of day.” 

She also revealed that, when they were little, she would sing Once Upon a Dream from Cinderella as a lullaby to get them to sleep. 

Kelly and Brandon divorced in 2022 after nine years of marriage. He was the son of her former manager, Narvel Blackstock, and former stepson of country singer, Reba McEntire.

During their marriage, Brandon acted as Kelly’s manager, but they split in 2020 with their divorce only being finalised two years later. 

He was living at a $1.7million ranch in Montana with his partner before his death.

In August last year, Brandon died at the age of 48, after a private three-year battle with melanoma. 

A day before his death, Kelly announced she was postponing her planned residency in Las Vegas in order to focus on spending time with her kids.

River and Remy are the youngest of Brandon’s four children, with the music businessman having Savannah and Seth with his first wife, Melissa Ashworth.

A day later, Starstruck Entertainment, the agency where Blackstock worked, confirmed that he had died.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” they wrote in the statement first published by People.

“Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years.

“He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family.

“We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”

LILY Allen has opened up on her state of mind and the “huge change” in her family life situation following her split with husband David Harbour.

The popstar candidly told how she had now come out from the other side of a “nervous breakdown” which saw her hospitalised.

Lily, 40, who shares two daughters with first husband Sam Cooper, and endured a bitter split with Stranger Things actor David, 50, last year.

Cheating allegations and a marriage lacking intimacy were allegations levelled at the Netflix actor by Lily, with the former couple starting to negotiate the sale their £6m Brooklyn townhouse.

The marriage breakdown sparked Smile songstress Lily’s first album in seven years.

At the heart of the record is a character called Madeline, who Lily confirmed to the Times is a construct of other people, and the secret relationship she has with a man many are interpreting to be Harbour.

LILY’S HABIT

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HER CHOICE

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Now she has opened up on the after effects on her Miss Me? podcast.

She said: “I’ve done quite a lot this year.

“I’ve finished an album, I got a boob job, I had a nervous breakdown, I went into hospital for a bit, I came out, I did some podcasting for a while, then I played one of the hardest tracks in theatre and killed myself (in the role of Hedda Gabler) every night for seven weeks.”

She added of teen daughters Ethel, 14, and Marnie, 13: “My kids are f**king mental at the moment.

“They are really developing their personalities. It’s just a lot.

“There’s a lot of questions.”

Tacitly making reference to the life changes prompted by the split she said: “There’s a lot of change in our lives at the moment

“We’ve changed houses, we’ve changed countries, we’ve changed schools, and it’s a lot.”

The Fear hitmaker added to her show: “The last five years, I’ve been a stay-at-home mum.

“And now I’m a single mum that has to work and suddenly has a lot of work opportunities on my plate and I’m having to travel a lot.”

MARRIAGE SPLIT

Lily previously told how she was suicidal after her marriage split and voluntarily opted to go to rehab.

She has previously been open about her recreational use of drugs and alcohol but she opted to quit the substances six years ago.

It led the star to find her marriage split even more challenging as she wasn’t able to use the substances as a way out.

Lily said: “The feelings of despair that I was experiencing were so strong.

“The last time that I felt anything like that, drugs and alcohol were my way out, so it was excruciating to sit with those [feelings] and not to use them.”

Lily said: “I’ve been into those places before against my will and I feel like that’s progress in itself.

“That’s strength. I knew that the things I was feeling were too extreme to be able to manage, and I was like, ‘I need some time away’.”

Lily married David in 2020 – her second husband following her marriage to the father of her children, builder Sam Cooper.

The LDN hitmaker was married to Sam from 2011-2018 although the relationship was understood to have crumbled sometime before they made their break-up official.

TOUGH TIMES

Lily and David split up in December 2024 and it was later reported he’d had a three-year affair.

David had even made a shock “cheating” joke while doing a tour of their New York City home two years prior.

But the split fuelled the Lily’s huge music comeback, with the toxic fallout playing out on her first album in seven years.

The eye-watering details of her open marriage and split from actor David are seemingly laid bare in the 14-song album.

On the album, Lily took aim at David and claimed how he allegedly ­bedded a woman called “Madeline”.

The track is written as a letter to the woman David had an affair with.

“How long has it been going on? Is it just sex or is there emotion?” Lily sings at one point.

And in the song Tennis, Lily croons:  “So I read your text, and now I regret it.

It has since been revealed that “Madeline” is likely based on Natalie Tippett, a single mum aged 34, from New Orleans, who has strongly denied any affair.