Exclusive | kelly clarkson’s ‘very painful’ personal issues may force her to leave hit tv show: ‘she knows her limits’

Kelly Clarkson has experienced a clear-minded “moment of clarity” following the personal issues that saw her abruptly leave her talk show, sources tell Page Six. The 43-year-old singer left

the set of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” for almost two weeks back in March but has yet to discuss the reasons why publicly. Fans were told only that she was dealing with a “private matter,” and

have been left baffled since. “This has all been very painful for her,” revealed an industry insider who has worked closely with Clarkson. “The difficulty is that Kelly, like all of us,

wants to be liked, and she had to deal with this new moment in her life. She knew she had to step down for a minute.” EXPLORE MORE A host of stars were quickly drafted in to cover for the

star, ranging from Andy Cohen to Wanda Sykes and Brooke Shields, as the insider told Page Six, “She has her priorities, and her family comes first, but I think she’s been humbled by the

whole situation… what has happened has given her a moment of clarity, I think. The turmoil came after things seemed to be finally settling back down in Clarkson’s life following her very

public divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, with whom she shares daughter River Rose, 10, and son Remy, 8. “Kelly grew up without a father, and she had an incredible love story with

Brandon,” added a friend. “She is a compassionate and caring person, and what has happened [recently] has helped her to move beyond the divorce.” Clarkson has been candid about just how much

the 2020 split after seven years of marriage and following legal battle took out of her, telling Apple Music in 2023, “Just to be brutally honest, I did not handle [the divorce] well.”

Things were made more difficult as Blackstock, 48 — stepson of country music star Reba McEntire — was also his spouse’s manager and one of the architects of her fortune. Indeed, as Page Six

previously reported, he masterminded her multi-million TV deal with NBC. The star was paid in the range of $10 million per season as a coach on “The Voice,” we’re told, and is believed to

get even more for hosting her show — a deal also brokered by Blackstock. “The irony is that he’s had a very positive influence on her life; he made these phenomenal deals for her, and she

wouldn’t be here without him. But it’s hard to be a manager and a husband,” said the industry insider, “At the time, she greatly appreciated what he had done for her career.” Clarkson

abruptly left her show on March 3 and returned on March 18. Two days later, on the show’s 1,000th episode, she was close to tears as she celebrated, telling viewers, “We’ve created a

community and supported each other through a lot of ups and downs … A lot of ups and downs personally as well.” America took down-home Clarkson from Fort Worth, TX, to its collective heart

from the minute she stepped into the audition room to sing for Simon Cowell on the debut season of “American Idol” in 2002. She ended up winning the whole show, beating curly-haired

runner-up Justin Guarini. Clarkson went on to sell over 28 million albums and become one of the most successful singers of her generation, before turning her sights to daytime TV in 2019.

Her genuine warmth and friendliness have grown a loyal audience season after season. “She is immensely talented and good at what she does, but she definitely had opinions about the music she

sang, the music her contestants sang, she kept in touch with every single contestant, she took it very seriously, she had a relationship with each of them. “She is totally invested, whether

it was wardrobe or music or promo,” said an industry insider. During the show’s run, viewers have noticed Clarkson undergo a physical transformation, losing a huge amount of weight since

moving her kids’ home base from Tennessee to NYC, where she tapes the show. Clarkson, who is 5’3″, told guest Whoopi Goldberg last May she had weighed 203 pounds and admitted using a weight

loss medication – not Ozempic – after her doctor “chased me down for two years” about it, because her bloodwork was bad, revealing she was pre-diabetic. She’s also been working with

celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger. Alongside the daytime show, Clarkson this year launched her own music label, High Road Records, and is set to embark on a Las Vegas residency, ‘Kelly

Clarkson: Studio Sessions’, kicking off at Caesars Palace on July 4. She will sing 18 performances and finish on November 15. All of this – and dealing with her personal issues – means

questions are abounding about how much longer she will host her talk show. As we previously revealed, she plans to call it a day when her contract runs out in 2026, at the end of Season 7.

It may seem strange as “The Kelly Clarkson Show” averages a million viewers per day — an increase from fall 2023 — and consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top syndicated talk shows.

Despite this, a TV source said the show is expensive to produce. “It’s a tough job and profit margins are low,” they said. NBC, meanwhile, wants to ensure Clarkson isn’t burned out or bummed

out by the network and still available to host holiday specials like “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”. “She knows her limits, even on ‘The Voice’, when she was working so hard, she knew

when she needed a refresh – that’s what you’re seeing now,” said the industry insider. “She is a very feeling, sensitive person, as you see on the talk show, and that’s both in her personal

and professional life. Earlier this month, Clarkson was reunited with former mentor Cowell on her show. The Brit has previously admitted he credits the singer with making him a star in the

USA. “Kelly looked great, they were hanging out backstage and she sent everyone little gifts,” said a Cowell pal, “They were all so funny together, all gigging like school kids. She’s not

entitled, and her crew love her.” Clarkson, the industry insider, admitted, never dreamed of finding TV fame. “There is a price to pay and sometimes it sucks…people care about Kelly, they

feel that she’s their star, and that’s the cross she must bear. “But I think she’s found her peace and is making sense of her world, and the events in her life.”