Report: Kelly Clarkson’s Massive Spousal Support Payments Are Temporary
Kelly Clarkson was recently ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in support to her estranged husband each month, but according to a new report, the situation is only temporary.
A judge in Los Angeles handed down the order on Tuesday (July 27) that Clarkson would pay Brandon Blackstock $150,000 in spousal support and $45,601 in child support each month. An unnamed source tells People that arrangement "is strictly temporary support until a final settlement is worked out."
The couple have two children together: daughter River Rose is 7, and their son, Remington Alexander, is 5.
People previously reported that a source said Blackstock had asked for far more than the current figure in support, requesting $301,000 in spousal support and $135,000 in child support for a staggering total of $436,00 per month.
Blackstock is a talent manager who served as Clarkson's manager during their marriage, but recent court papers revealed he is giving that up to take up life as a full-time rancher on the former couple's ranch in Montana.
The new support arrangement came nearly a month after Clarkson's lawyer, Laura Wasser, filed a formal request in court on July 2, asking a judge to put aside ongoing issues including a financial settlement and custody of the children and grant Clarkson's request for a divorce, leaving the other issues to get resolved at a later date.
Clarkson and Blackstock married in 2013. Clarkson filed for divorce in June of 2020. Blackstock responded to Clarkson's divorce petition on July 21, and the couple initially tried to work out their divorce privately and easily, citing the best interests of their kids.
Their divorce turned more contentious in September of 2020, when Starstruck Management Group — which Blackstock's father, Narvel Blackstock, founded and where Blacktock previously worked as a talent agent — sued Clarkson, alleging they were owed unpaid commissions exceeding a million dollars. She countersued in December, alleging that Blackstock had defrauded her by overcharging her over the years. She also claimed that Starstruck was not licensed to practice in California, a violation of the California Labor Code. Blackstock denied her claims in legal documents he filed in January of 2021.
A judge awarded Clarkson temporary primary physical custody of the couple's children in November of 2020.
Blackstock is challenging the couple's prenuptial agreement in court, which is one of the issues that has caused their divorce to drag on for more than a year.
Clarkson has been moving on in a number of ways recently. The couple's former 20,000-square-foot mansion in Tennessee sold on June 17, and Clarkson has just purchased a stunning new mansion in an exclusive area of Los Angeles, where she's been living as she focuses on her television work. Clarkson has also listed her former mansion in California for sale for just under $9 million.