Kelly Clarkson Talks Relationship With Former Stepmom Reba McEntire

After Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock broke up, the pop star says she remained close with one person in her ex's camp: his former stepmom Reba McEntire.

During her recent appearance on late-night talk show, Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked the "Since U Been Gone" singer if anything had changed between her and the country icon since the American Idol alum's marriage ended.

"Not at all," Clarkson replied, still reeling with excitement from promoting her new album Chemistry, much of which discusses her divorce from Blackstock.

Her latest statements may come as no surprise for those all caught up with Clarkson and McEntire, as the two connected long before any sparks flew between Blackstock and the Grammy winner.

"We were friends before (Blackstock and I) even got together," the 41-year-old pop artist explained on the show. "As a matter of fact, literally, we were talking before she signed up to ‘The Voice,’ we were texting each other about that and we text each other all the time."

Related: Why Kelly Clarkson Once Hid a 'Creepy' Doll in Reba McEntire's Closet

Clarkson continued, "I think we’re both women of sound mind that know that life doesn’t work out sometimes. I mean, well, she would know best," she said, laughing at her sly nod to McEntire's own experience with divorce–first from Charlie Battles after 11 years and again in 2015 after 26 years of marriage to Narvel Blackstock, the father of Clarkson's ex-husband. "It’s literally the same thing. So, yeah, no hard feelings there, just feelings."

Elsewhere in the conversation, Clarkson called the "I'm a Survivor" songstress "one of my major influences as an artist."

Though McEntire hasn't responded to Clarkson's latest praise, the Big Sky star said she wasn't going to pick sides during the former couple's fallout in 2021, telling reporters at the time: "Kelly and I do talk, we text and I love them both, and so I can’t play favorites because I’ve been a friend of Kelly for a long time," adding that "Brandon's been my son forever it seems. Although he's my stepson, I still love him like he's my total -- my blood, so I'm praying for ‘em both 'cause I love ‘em both."

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