Kelly Clarkson is single — but reluctant to mingle.
Clarkson, 43, spoke candidly about the dating game while on stage at the Colosseum at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace over the weekend as part of her Studio Sessions residency.
Taking a moment to chat with fans between performances of her greatest hits, the “Since U Been Gone” singer explained why she’s content being single.
“Dating can be very difficult, which is why I don’t,” Clarkson told the crowd, per fan footage shared via TikTok on Sunday, July 20. “It’s hard anyway; add a spotlight and it’s like a … dumpster fire.”
Kelly Clarkson’s Candid Quotes on Dating After Messy Divorce
Clarkson’s honest admission comes after she revealed during the May 6 episode of Today With Jenna & Friends that she’s single, telling host Jenna Bush Hager that she was “not looking” because she was “very busy.”
The singer also recently poked fun at past failed relationships, taking the stage during a May 9 performance in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to seemingly reflect on her marriage to ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. “We learn from our parents, [who] learn from their parents. We keep repeating the same horrible s*** over and over,” she told fans at the time. “Now, it turns out that I chose the same f***ing path.”
Kelly Clarkson Says She ‘Never Wanted to Get Married’ to Brandon Blackstock
Clarkson and her former manager, 48, were married from 2013 to 2022, during which the couple welcomed a daughter, River Rose, 11, and a son, Remington, 9. Clarkson filed for divorce in 2020, and the former couple settled in 2022 with Clarkson receiving full primary custody and moving to New York City with her children.
She reflected on the ordeal during an interview with USA Today in 2023. “I thought I was making a horrible decision,” she told the outlet at the time. “I knew I needed a fresh start and couldn’t be in L.A. I really wanted to be in Montana, but you can’t really do a show from there quite yet. So I was like, ‘The only other option would probably be New York.’”
Prior to her marriage to Blackstock, Clarkson briefly dated musician Ryan Key in 2006 and Graham Colton in 2015.
Clarkson’s dating life wasn’t the only topic she discussed with fans over the weekend. She also made reference to fellow musician Taylor Swift, revealing that the “Shake It Off” singer, 35, and her success sit in a league of their own. “When you tour, like, you have to take everything in trucks. So, you have to pay for all that,” Clarkson said, per social media footage. “You can’t really pay for seven guitars on stage ‘cause you make no money. Unless you’re Taylor Swift, then you can do whatever the f*** you want. For the rest of us minions, [it doesn’t] work.”
