A Los Angeles County judge has ordered Clarkson to give Blackstock $150,000 per month in spousal support, as well as $45,601 per month in child support.
After seven years of marriage, Kelly Clarkson filed for divorce from music manager Brandon Blackstock in 2020, citing irreconcilable differences. At the time of their separation, she asked for Blackstock's ability to seek spousal support to be terminated, given how he is country superstar Reba McEntire's stepson.
However, it seems like her request wasn't taken into consideration at the time, and now, a Los Angeles County judge has ordered The Voice judge to give Blackstock $150,000 per month in spousal support, as well as $45,601 per month in child support, per PEOPLE.
This means that Clarkson's ex-husband, 43, will receive $195,601 in total from Clarkson each month, which is roughly $2.4 million per year. Along with that, the 39-year-old singer will also have to pay $1.25 million towards Blackstock's attorney fees and costs for their ongoing divorce.
Shockingly, a source revealed that Blackstock had actually been aiming for more than double the amount in support, requesting that Clarkson pay him $436,000 per month— $301,000 in spousal support and $135,000 in child support.
"Brandon's been equally unreasonable in his requests for child and spousal support, as well as attorney fees," the source said, per PEOPLE. "Kelly's offered to pay for all the kids' expenses, but Brandon seems to think he is entitled to and needs $301K in spousal support and $135K in child support per month."
If his request was processed, it meant he'd receive more than $5.2 million per year. "Additionally, he's already asked for $2M for attorney fees when he's the one driving up the cost of the divorce with seven attorneys just representing him alone," the source adds.
Back in November 2020, Clarkson was given custody of her kids, River Rose, 6, and Remington Alexander, 4. At the time, a source close to the family said that the American Idol winner is "pleased" by the custody ruling as her priority is to protect her children.
"As Kelly has said, her first priority in all of this is to take care of the kids and all the hearts that are involved in this divorce," the second source says. "It's been a hard time for everyone, but Kelly's pleased with the court's ruling regarding custody."
"Divorce is hard and it gets tense for most couples going through it. But Kelly's primary focus is on doing the best she can to protect the kids," the source adds. "In this case, she had to fight for them since Brandon and his attorneys were making unreasonable requests."
Earlier this month, Clarkson appealed for a judge to officially sign off on her divorce, leaving other arrangements such as spousal and child support for a later date. The reason for her appeal was that she and Blackstock "both deserve the opportunity to build a new life."
References:
https://people.com/music/kelly-clarkson-divorce-pay-husband-brandon-blackstock-200k-support-month/
https://people.com/music/kelly-clarkson-divorce-brandon-blackstock-seeking-436k-support-month/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Frazer Harrison
