Kelly Clarkson Turns Down Suggestion to Date Pete Davidson or Tom Brady
Kelly Clarkson won’t be falling for any famous bachelors following her divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
The American Idol alum, 41, discussed her aversion to dating during an interview on The Howard Stern Show ahead of the Friday, June 23, release of her album Chemistry. “I will [eventually],” she explained. “I just don’t want to right now. It just seems, like, exhausting.”
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Clarkson clarified that when she’s ready to look for love again, she “definitely won’t” be using dating apps. “I’m not against them or above them,” she noted. “I just … that scares me.”
The “Breakaway” artist wouldn’t be afraid of making the first move, however. “I would ask someone out,” she said. “I think I’m over the trauma [of my divorce], I just really enjoy me right now.”
When Howard Stern asked how long it would be before Clarkson is spotted on a date with Pete Davidson, the Voice coach couldn’t help but laugh. “Here’s the thing, Pete is cute,” she conceded of the comedian, 29, whose exes include Kim Kardashian, Ariana Grande and more. “And he’s funny. I’m just saying, he’s cute and he’s funny … Pete Davidson, you are wonderful, but no. I’m not looking.”
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With his initial suggestion turned down, Stern, 69, brought up another big name: Tom Brady. The retired NFL pro, 45, announced in October 2022 that he and Gisele Bündchen called it quits after more than a decade of marriage.
Clarkson considered the possibility before ultimately deciding Brady wasn’t The One for her. “I have a lot of confidence,” she explained. “I’m a very confident woman. [But] I don’t think I’d like to follow Gisele Bündchen. … How do you not think about that when you’re making out with him?”
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The “Because of You” singer might not be fully ready to date, but she does have her eyes on a few celebrity crushes — albeit unconventional ones. “[They] aren’t, like, real people. They’re, like, the characters they play,” she teased, citing Nathan Fillion‘s character from the ABC hit Castle as one of her favorites. “I have crushes on, like, fake people.”
Clarkson has been candid about her hopes for the future since splitting from Blackstock, 46, in June 2020. The pair were married for nearly seven years before Us Weekly confirmed that the musician filed for divorce. They share two children: River Rose, 9, and Remington, 7.
It didn’t take long for the duo’s divorce proceedings — which were finalized in March 2022 — to become messy. Clarkson won primary custody of their kids, with Blackstock receiving monthly visitation. As part of their settlement, the “Since U Been Gone” singer agreed to pay her ex a one-time sum of $1.3 million and $115,000 per month in spousal support until January 2024.
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Clarkson used her personal highs and lows as the inspiration for her latest record — and she gave her former spouse a heads-up before the new music dropped.
“We did have a little text exchange about it,” she revealed on the Today show this month. “I don’t even remember why or how it happened, but I was like, ‘Hey, I didn’t just diminish us down to one (thing).’ You know what I’m saying? It’s all in there, the ride. The beauty is in there, as well. Now, there’s a lot of pain, but that’s what happens, for all of us.”
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The aftermath of her breakup was difficult, but Clarkson also admitted to struggling long before she and Blackstock split. “Just to be brutally honest, I did not handle it well. … I was crying so hard, even before separating,” she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe before Chemistry‘s release. “There were just a lot of now unhealthy habits you recognize or habits that you recognize that you didn’t see before. Hindsight is a lot easier.”
