Kelly Clarkson Opens Up About Love Life After Divorce

Three years after completing her divorce from music manager Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson is opening up for the first time about her struggle to navigate single motherhood, a flourishing career, and the pursuit of love. That makes her reaction, in a refreshingly candid moment, on Today with Jenna and Friends episode on May 6 all the more telling. The Grammy-winning singer and talk show host offered a rare glimpse at her current dating mindset, which is all about getting the mix right, not pressure.

At 43, Clarkson showed that she's not completely cutting herself off from love but is also not diving headfirst into the dating game in a desperate attempt to fill the void. "Yeah, I mean, I hope it does!" she said, asked if she still thinks there's a "unicorn moment" in which love once again strikes her unannounced. I will say, I'm not looking, and I'm not looking. I'm very busy."

That balancing act characterizes Kelly Clarkson's new era of life. As a power player on The Kelly Clarkson Show and coach on The Voice, not to mention being the mom of two children, River Rose, 10, and Remington Alexander, 8, Clarkson acknowledges the fact that managing her personal and professional obligations often makes dating seem like an impossible task. "You get this as a mom," she said, pointing to the whirlwind schedules that many parents have. "I've got to focus right now. There's a lot of work."

In addition to her obligations, Clarkson is juggling the madness of her two children's schedules. "My kids' schedule, I feel like, is busier than mine," she laughed. ""I'm running from my show to baseball practice and I'm trying to be just there. It's a lot." This adrenaline-fueled life has made it difficult for Clarkson to carve out time for herself, let alone focus on dating. But amid the chaos, she's learning to carve out moments just for her.

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It's a sentiment that hits home for many single parents. Clarkson's frankness illustrates how heartbreak is tricky to leave behind, not just in letting someone new into your life but also in finding peace with yourself. "Look, I was a single mom,'" my mom will tell me. I didn't get to make everything. They're gonna be fine. You turned out fine,'" Clarkson added, citing an anecdote from advice that has helped her cope with the guilt of being unable to be everywhere all the time. Instead of jumping into another relationship, Clarkson gives herself the gift of time to grow, heal, and plot the course of her life at her own speed. She's not pursuing fairy tales, but she's not dismissing them.

For a woman who has given her whole heart to her music for decades, Clarkson is still evolving as a newly single woman entering her 40s, reclaiming her independence, and recalibrating her concept of love. Whether in the form of heart-wrenching ballads or painfully honest segments on national TV, she still shows vulnerability in every season of her life.

So, love is not yet knocking at her door, but Kelly Clarkson is not concerned. She's too busy building a life she loves, and if a partner comes along to share it with her, she'll be open to that, too. For now, the status reveal for Clarkson is less swipe right and more live right. And in today's instantaneous thrills world, that could be the unicorn moment.