EXCLUSIVE: KELLY CLARKSON TELLS INNER CIRCLE — “MY KIDS COME BEFORE MY SHOW”
Talk Show Queen Ready to Walk Away to Reclaim Family Time: “I’m Missing Too Much”
After months of quiet soul-searching and whispered exit talks, Kelly Clarkson has made a decision — and it’s from the heart.
Sources close to the Stronger singer tell Rob Shuter’s Substack that Kelly is preparing to step back from her daytime talk show — not out of scandal but because she must put her children first.
“She’s missing too much,” one friend says. “School events, bedtime stories, those little moments that go by so fast. She told us, ‘I can’t keep choosing work over my kids.’”
Kelly, 42, shares daughter River, 10, and son Remington, 8, with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, and while she’s loved her talk show success, insiders say she no longer needs the money or the grind.
“She’s financially secure. She’s not chasing checks — she’s chasing time with her children,” a close friend reveals.
Clarkson recently opened up about one of her parenting pain points — being blindsided by school performances scheduled during work hours — calling it “cruel” and saying it threatens her “emotional stability.”
Now, friends say that frustration was just the tip of a deeper emotional reckoning.
“She looked around and realized: everyone’s getting her leftovers,” the source adds. “Her kids, her friends, even herself. The show has taken everything.”
NBC is said to be scrambling behind the scenes to convince her to stay, but those closest to Kelly say it is unlikely.
“She wants mornings back. She wants to take her kids to school, be home for dinner, fall in love again maybe — and not feel like she’s letting an entire staff down for having a life.”
Rob Shuter’s Substack broke it first: Kelly Clarkson is choosing her kids over the spotlight — because what she’s craving now isn’t ratings, it’s real life.
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