Kelly Clarkson reveals how she’s helping her daughter through ‘hard’ junior high one year after Brandon Blackstock’s death
Kelly Clarkson opened up about helping her daughter navigate the challenges of junior high, and revealed the advice she gives both of her young children as they grow up.
Clarkson shared her two children, daughter River, 12, and son Remington, 10, with her late husband Brandon Blackstock, who passed away at age 48 from melanoma.
“I’m a pretty progressive parent, so I’m like, ‘No, no. You’re gonna make your own mistakes, and that’s OK,’” Clarkson told E! News in an interview published Tuesday. “I’m not like an ‘I told you so,’ but I do implement advice.”
The “Since U Been Gone” hitmaker explained that her daughter is in junior high, which “sucks.”
“It’s a hard age with friends, and arguing and stuff like that. I do offer advice, and I’ve had my daughter come back and be like, ‘So you were right,’” Clarkson said.
“I’ve had them be like, ‘OK, so I didn’t do that, and I should have,’” she added.
Blackstock tragically died in August 2025 after his private, three-year battle with cancer.
Clarkson’s parenting guidance comes after a source exclusively revealed to Page Six in August how she helped her kids navigate the loss of their father.
“It’s been an incredibly emotional year for Kelly and the kids,” the insider said.
They added, “Her focus has been making sure they feel loved, supported and as stable as possible while giving them the space to grieve in their own way.”
In January, the mom of two also shared that she lets her children sleep alongside her.
“There’s been a lot for our family recently, and so I have allowed my kids to sleep with me quite a bit. So it’s my two dogs, my kids and me, it’s a lot,” Clarkson said in an Instagram Q+A at the time.
“It’s been really special, though. The conversations you have during that time are pretty cute. So that’s probably my favorite time of day,” she added.
“The Voice” coach was married to Blackstock from 2013 to 2022. She filed for divorce in 2020, and it was finalized two years later.
The two had a complicated, drawn-out divorce, partly due to the fact that Blackstock had become the star’s talent manager at one time.
Clarkson was granted primary custody of their two children, but was ordered to pay millions of dollars in spousal and child support to Blackstock.
Since her divorce, Clarkson has not been romantically linked to anyone.