Kelly Clarkson has to "keep in" a lot of frustration about co-parenting
The 42-year-old singer - who has River, 10, and Remy, eight, with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock - gets annoyed by double standards when it comes to working mothers and fathers and the different expectations of each
29 March 2025
Speaking to Kylie Kelce on her 'Not Gonna Lie' podcast, Kelly said: "It's funny though how different it is because even from a young age, like we didn't teach them [that].
"Just innately, you're like, 'He's allowed to be somewhere, but you're not.' Like, that is real interesting.
"There's a lot that I keep in because...co-parenting is fun. It's like, 'Oh, he couldn't come because this,' and I'm like, 'Okay, cool.' Do you think I just leave and just sit in the park all day?"
Kelly also expressed her frustration at schools which schedule events in the daytime with little notice, meaning many working parents are unable to attend.
She said: "I'm not gonna lie, I don't know when the school systems thought it would be a good plan for families and their emotional stability to start having performances at 10 a.m. during the week. This just in - a lot of us work
"And, [they're] surprising you with it, like not giving you an advance, so you can at least tell your work, 'Hey, I'm gonna need this morning off.'
"A lot of jobs wouldn't let you do that anyway, but even if you're like the boss and you would have that control our kids don't understand, and we just look like a******, when we're not there.
"And, then they go, 'Why was this mom there?' And, then you have to say, 'Because that kid's got a better mom.'"
The 'Stronger' hitmaker previously told how she'd learned not to hide her emotions from her children while going through her divorce.
She told Vogue magazine in 2022: "I think the most important thing I've learned in therapy, especially through this divorce, is 'Don't hide everything from your kids.' Obviously, don't talk about stuff that you shouldn't talk about, but it's okay if they see you cry, or it's okay if they see you've had a bad day.
"You start to feel that kind of shame, like, 'I've got to put my best foot forward as a mom because I don't want them to be affected.'
"But then you allow your kids to express empathy, and they learn how to say, 'Oh, man, I'm sorry you had a hard day.'"
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