Kelly Clarkson to Pay Ex Brandon Blackstock Almost $200,000 a Month in Spousal and Child Support

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that Kelly Clarkson must pay her ex Brandon Blackstock almost $200,000 per month in spousal and child support, which is less than half of what he had asked for.

A temporary court order handed down Tuesday, July 27, and obtained by TMZ and People states that the Voice coach, singer and host of The Kelly Clarkson Show must pay her ex $150,000 per month in spousal support as well $45,601 per month in child support, for a total of $195,601 per month, which equals more than $2.3 million a year. Kelly, 39, and Brandon, 44, share daughter River Rose Blackstock, 7, and son Remington Alexander Blackstock, 5.

Attorneys for the former couple had no immediate comment when reached by E! News, which has not obtained the court documents.

Last November, Kelly was awarded primary physical custody of the children. Brandon later sought $436,000 in monthly spousal and child support.

According to TMZ, the recent court filing states that Kelly earns more than $1.5 million per month in income.

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The outlet also reported that the documents reveal that Brandon, who is the former stepson of Reba McEntire, decided to leave his career as an entertainment manager and "made a very deliberate choice to change his life and become a rancher full-time," which would include working a ranch and sponsoring rodeos.

Meanwhile, TMZ quoted the filing as saying that Kelly's ex still "spends minimal time regarding his representation of his remaining client," country star Blake Shelton, who is also Kelly's co-star on The Voice.

Tuesday's court order also requires the singer to pay $1.25 million towards her estranged husband's attorney fees and costs for their divorce, which has not yet been finalized, TMZ and People reported.

Earlier this month, the singer filed papers requesting that she be declared legally single. "Irreconcilable differences have existed and continue to exist between [Brandon] and me, which have caused our marriage to irretrievably break down," states the filing, which was obtained by E! News. "No counseling or reconciliation effort will be of any value at this time...[Brandon] and I bot deserve the opportunity to build a new life."

Kelly filed for divorce from Brandon in June 2020 after almost seven years of marriage. "My life has been a little bit of a dumpster," she said in an interview with NBC's Sunday Today the following September. "I've been talking to friends that have been through a divorce. I don't know how people go through that without having some kind of outlet because it is the worst thing ever for everyone involved."

Also that month, she said on The Kelly Clarkson Show season two premiere, "What I'm dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart. It involves a lot of little hearts. We have four kids," referring to Brandon's eldest two children from a previous marriage.

"And divorce is never easy," she continued. "And we're both from divorced families so we know the best thing here is to protect our children and their little hearts."

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