Kelly Clarkson says her kids still hope that mom and dad will get back together

Kelly Clarkson's children still hold out hope that she will reconcile with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock; but the singer says she feels like a better mother since her divorce.

"My kids just came back from my ex and it's always like — any time there's mention of maybe him being with somebody else — they are just really adamant about keeping that dream alive that we might still be together one day," Clarkson remarked on a recent episode of the We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle podcast, noting that a reconciliation is definitely not going to happen. "We are never around each other."

Clarkson told Doyle that since finalizing her divorce last year, she is a “far better mother,” adding, "Because I think when you're honest with yourself, you're able to be honest with others. But sometimes you don't know that you're necessarily lying to yourself."

“Love is tricky — it really convinces you that you’re doing the right thing," she said.

Clarkson said she worries about how her divorce affects her children, acknowledging that she doesn't always have a great answer when they ask deep questions.

In 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock, citing “irreconcilable differences” after tying the knot in 2013. They have two children, daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remington, 7.

The former couple's divorce was "tough," Clarkson said in a February 2021 episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show," adding that their children were their primary concern.

In March 2023, the pop star elaborated some of the healing conversations taking place at home.

"I literally ask my kids every night when we’re snuggling up in the bed, 'Are you happy? And if you’re not, what could make you happier?' That’s it,” Clarkson said on the "Angie Martinez IRL" podcast.

Clarkson said her kids have remarked, "You know, I’m just really sad. I wish Mommy and Daddy were in the same house."

She added, "They’re not small feelings. Those are huge feelings, and those are huge emotions."

Clarkson admitted that staying in the marriage for as long as she did was partly motivated by "ego" and a belief that she could work through marital problems instead of being true to herself. "I am far better at boundaries now," she said.

Clarkson told Doyle that after her divorce was announced, people offered to set her up on dates.

"I was like, 'Are you insane?'" she recalled. "It better be a really great therapist. I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I'm still processing."

Marriage is "work," she adds. "I don't know that I'll ever get married again. I'm not against marriage. I would love to fall in love."

Clarkson said the divorce taught her to be honest.

"I think we mold things and shape them to justify them instead of just being truly honest about what is happening," she told Doyle. "That's a big win for me."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com