Kelly Clarkson Says Kids Want Her to Reunite with Ex, Reveals Why She Stayed With Him So Long

The original "American Idol" made that revelation during an interview on the We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle podcast this week, sharing how the former couple's children -- daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remington, 7 -- are struggling with the split.

"My kids just came back from my ex and it's like, anytime there's mention of maybe him being with somebody else, they are really adamant about keeping that dream alive that we might still be together one day," said Clarkson, adding that she and Blackstock are "never around each other."

Clarkson and Blackstock married in 2013, before splitting in 2020. The separation sparked a tumultuous legal battle before both their divorce and custody arrangement was finalized in 2021. Speaking with Doyle, Clarkson was asked why she stayed with her ex as long as she did.

"My ego, I'm like, I can do this, I can handle so much. My ego is like, I can control my actions, I can control my reactions, I can do this, I can reach this person and I can get through. It becomes a little bit of your ego that gets in your way," she explained. "Also, if I'm being honest, we don't wanna do what we saw done. I'm like, I don't want my kids to be those kids at school. In the South, there were like two of us with divorced parents in our class, so it was very different."

She also explained that she kept putting the needs of others before her own, not wanting to make her children uncomfortable despite her own unhappiness. "You start never thinking about yourself. I'm rarely selfish ... it's very hard for me to take that and go, 'I need this,'" she added.

"You maybe don't notice yourself doing it, because it happens so gradually," she continued of dimming her light. "To dull yourself so you feel like somebody else can shine or to feel like you're not in the way, that's not a healthy way to live. It's not a healthy example for your child to look at you and see that."

Post-divorce, Kelly and those around her have seen a shift in her, something she said was really apparent during a photoshoot for her upcoming album "Chemistry."

"Being at that photoshoot, my whole team that's known me pre-him, were like, 'Oh my god, there you are,'" she shared. "Everything was so different and I didn't even realize it until after that you had belittled who you are to make sure everybody else felt secure or fine."

Looking ahead, Clarkson said she's still looking for love ... but probably won't walk down the aisle again.

"It's not that I'm against marriage, I think marriage is beautiful ... I just don't think it's necessarily for everyone. I get why people love apple pie, but is it my favorite pie? No. I don't necessarily want it," she explained. "I don't feel like everyone needs to do the same thing because we're all at different points in our lives. I don't have time for marriage. It is so much work, even if you are in love like you've never been in love in your life."

"I don't know that I'll ever get married again. I would love to fall in love," she added. "I think people get married all the time for sometimes reasons they just feel forced, it's the next step. That's not why you should get married."

Clarkson's new album "Chemistry" drops June 23, 2023.