Kelly Clarkson Gives Unfiltered Advice To Her Kids Amid Her Ongoing Divorce

Kelly Clarkson's anthem, "Stronger," is about embracing being alone after a breakup, but the singer isn't too proud to admit that it's not always easy to find that inner strength and move on while going through a divorce — especially when there are kids involved.

When Clarkson decided to end her seven-year marriage to music manager Brandon Blackstock in 2020, she addressed the divorce on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," telling her audience, "The best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts. ... I'm a mama bear, and my kids come first." Clarkson shares two biological children with Blackstock, son Remington and daughter River, and she was also stepmom to his two children from a previous marriage.

Clarkson and Blackstock's custody agreement requires Remington and River to spend a single weekend with their dad each month, according to Entertainment Tonight, so the kids live with their mom the majority of the time. However, Clarkson was still ordered to pay Blackstock monthly child support payments of more than $45,000. In a June appearance on "The Chart Show With Brooke Reese," Clarkson confessed that the divorce was still taking its toll on her and her family. "It's been, like two years and not easy with kids," she said (via Us Weekly). But while working through her feelings by writing new music, the introspective star has been sharing some helpful advice with her kids about how to come out of this situation "stronger."

Kelly Clarkson has two siblings of her own, but because their parents got divorced when she was young, she did not live with her brother and sister growing up. However, during a SiriusXM interview, she revealed that the trio became so close when they reconnected later on that they moved into houses on the same 60-acre plot. Clarkson's clearly learned the value of having that special sibling bond and now that her kids are going through a divorce, she wants them to have it, too.

"I tell my kids this all the time, you're each other's buddies," Clarkson said on the October 6 episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show." She explained that she really impresses the importance of maintaining this strong sibling bond on River and Remington because she can't always be with them, especially now that they have to travel to stay with their dad. It's also something she lectures them on when they squabble. "I'm like 'No, no no. This is your wing man,'" said Clarkson. "'You're supposed to stick up for each other. Don't tattle tell all the time.'"

Clarkson's also doing her part as a co-parent, telling "Today" that she and the kids spent the summer with their father in Montana to give River and Remington a break from traveling back-and-forth between their parents' homes. "It was the first time I think my kids felt more centered," she said.