In the wake of a turbulent divorce, Kelly Clarkson wants to change her name

Kelly Clarkson may soon be Kelly Clarkson no more.

Multiple outlets report that the first person to win “American Idol” filed court documents on Valentine’s Day to change her name to Kelly Brianne. Brianne is her middle name, and one that she wrote “more fully reflects who I am.”

The petition comes in the wake of her difficult divorce from Brandon Blackstock. She was declared legally single in September 2021, and also successfully changed her name back to Kelly Clarkson.

Television

Kelly Clarkson wants to ‘light up America’s life,’ even on the days she feels dark

With her daytime talk show, “The Voice” judge and “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson hopes to make you feel better — without hiding heartbreaks of her own.

Sept. 11, 2020

In a 2020 interview with The Times, Clarkson was hesitant to speak on her divorce out of thoughtfulness for her children.

“I am a very open person, but I’m not going to be able to be truly open about this in certain aspects because there’s kids involved,” she said. “My children and his older children — there are a lot of little hearts involved in this and while people feel, ‘Oh my gosh, what a loss ...’ imagine how it is in the epicenter of the storm. It’s a lot to process and deal with, just as a family.”

More recently, however, she’s been transparent about the toll the split took on her, and the difficulties of quarantining with two children as a single mother. Appearing as a guest Tuesday on “The Kelly Clarkson” show, she spoke matter-of-factly about the mundane realities of everyday life from her home.

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“Sometimes women don’t rise. Sometimes we fall,” a pajama-clad Clarkson jokingly told guest host Taraji P. Henson. “I thought we were done with quarantining, and I’m so tired. I broke a nail. I’m so broken. This is me broken. My almond milk just expired. America, this is what I look like. You’re welcome.”