Kelly Clarkson recalls Dolly Parton support on night divorce was finalised
Kelly Clarkson learnt her divorce from Brandon Blackstock had been finalised 30 minutes before she performed for Dolly Parton at the 2022 ACM Awards.
She described that night on the Las Culturistas podcast in an episode posted Wednesday, Sept. 30, Billboard reported. The timing left her almost no space between personal news and a very public performance.
Clarkson was there to honour Parton with a live version of “I Will Always Love You” while Parton watched from the side of the stage. Backstage before the song, she said she ran into Parton and told her the divorce had just been finalised.
She did not repeat word for word what Parton said back. She called it “just a really beautiful thing” that helped her stay grounded before she had to walk out and sing. It was a short exchange. Clarkson said it steadied her.
Clarkson said she first met Parton years earlier at a tribute for Reba McEntire. That brief first meeting stayed with her, and seeing Parton again backstage on a hard night carried extra weight. The performance then went ahead as planned, with Parton close by.
The divorce had been a long process. Clarkson filed in 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage, People reported, and the split was finalised in March 2022. The former pair later settled a 2024 lawsuit over alleged unpaid fees from Blackstock’s time as Clarkson’s manager.
Clarkson has also addressed the break-up in her music. “Lighthouse,” a ballad about the effects of the divorce, appeared on her 2023 studio album, Chemistry, NBC reported. She has spoken openly in interviews about using songwriting to work through that period.
Both of the other central figures in the story have since died. Blackstock died in 2025 at age 48 after living with cancer for three years. Parton died in August at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. Clarkson spoke about Parton only weeks after that loss.
Her own daytime series, The Kelly Clarkson Show, is due to end in late 2026 after seven seasons. The podcast appearance was a rare, detailed look back at a night when her private life and professional duties collided.
For listeners, the story fills in what was happening off camera during a performance many people watched live. It was not about the song choice. It was about who was standing nearby when she needed steadiness, and what a few kind words did in the half hour before showtime.
