Report: Divorce Judge Rules Kelly Clarkson’s Montana Ranch Belongs to Her, Not Her Ex-Husband
Kelly Clarkson is one step closer to moving on from her contentious divorce from Brandon Blackstock. According to a new report, the pop superstar and TV personality scored a court victory when a judge in the couple's ongoing divorce ruled that the Montana ranch they purchased during their marriage belongs solely to Clarkson, and not to Blackstock.
As TMZ reports on Friday (Oct. 1), Blackstock had contended that the ranch was marital property that belonged to them jointly, but a judge has decided differently, handing down a new ruling that the ranch falls within the scope of the couple's prenuptial agreement. That agreement states that whatever each party acquired during the marriage belongs solely to that person, and in this instance, the judge has decreed that Clarkson is the sole owner of the ranch, as she paid for it and is the sole titleholder.
That's bad news for Blackstock, as he has been living at the ranch in Montana since Clarkson filed for divorce in June of 2020. The former high-powered showbiz talent manager has decided to make a complete career change by becoming a full-time rancher, and he had initially fought the have the prenup invalidated. A judge upheld the prenup in August.
Clarkson reportedly wants to sell the Montana ranch, and the new ruling puts her closer to doing that, though Blackstock continues to live there. A source tells TMZ that she considers her estranged husband a "squatter" and is considering legal action to have him removed from the property.
The new ruling is the latest in a series of recent decisions on the divorce, which is moving rapidly toward its conclusion after dragging out for more than a year. On Sept. 24, news broke that a judge had declared both of the parties legally single in August of 2021. That decision was in response to a legal request Clarkson filed with the court in July asking to be declared legally single amid her divorce, and she's also requested that the court restore her legal name.
Blackstock and Clarkson wed in October of 2013. They have two children together, River Rose and Remington Alexander. A judge granted Clarkson temporary custody of both children in November of 2020.
In July of 2021, a judge ordered Clarkson to pay Blackstock $150,000 in spousal support and $45,601 in child support each month in a temporary arrangement until a final divorce settlement is worked out. The documents revealed on Sept. 24 state that the couple's “marital or domestic partnership status” will legally end on Jan. 7, 2022.
Clarkson has been moving on from the marriage on several fronts recently. The couple's former 20,000-square-foot mansion in Tennessee sold on June 17, and Clarkson has most recently sold her former mansion in California for just over $8 million. She also purchased a stunning new luxury home in an exclusive area of Los Angeles in July, where she's been living as she focuses on her television work on the Kelly Clarkson Show, as well as her role as a coach on The Voice.