KELLY Clarkson has admitted to dating her fellow American Idol finalist during a recent interview.Kelly, 41, recently appeared on the La Culturistas podcast and spilled some tea about her secret relationship with Justin Guarini.Justin and Kelly were the top two finalists during the premiere season of American Idol in 2002, with Kelly ultimately being crowned the winner.
The two even went on to star in the 2003 musical film, From Justin to Kelly, which showed the pair as college students who fall in love.While the two may have been competitors who turned into friends, the Grammy-winning artist admitted they had actually taken their relationship to the next level after filming the movie.
“We didn’t date during, we dated after,” Kelly admitted after one host inquired about their relationship during the filming of From Justin to Kelly.It was like, months, but it was just like – and I think we’d probably both say this – we just were around each other all the time.
“We’re here, you’re here, I’m here, and we experienced something very intense.”It wasn’t like I won and I was the only one on the promo. Justin and I went around everywhere.”The host admitted that the relationship was kept on the low due to her and Justin not being “kiss and tell people.”
“It wasn’t like we were like, ‘Oh don’t tell people,’ I don’t remember ever having that conversation,” she explained.In terms of her career, Kelly continued to say that she then went on to make “that horrible film” due to the fact that she was “contractually obligated.”
The Breakaway hitmaker even said that she bawled in an attempt to get out of filming the movie, primarily because her goal was to never be an actor and the job was forced upon her after winning Idol.Kelly has been making her podcasts rounds recently, with another new appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast last week.
KELLY’S DIVORCE
During the episode, Kelly promoted the release of her upcoming album, Chemistry, as well as to touch on her nasty split.Kelly filed for divorce in June 2020, citing irreconcilable differences; however, what followed was chaos and a court battle over their martial assets.
Two years later, the former couple settled their divorce, and the Grammy Award-winner was ordered to pay her ex over $1.3million, along with $45,601 per month in child support.”Divorce, in general, is hard. Separation, grief, loss, all of that is hard. I think the worst part is when you feel alone,” Kelly told host Conan, 60, in front of a live audience.
The mom of two then explained that she struggled to confide in those close to her as they didn’t share the same experiences.”When you’re going through something so horrendous and so publicly, there’s no way to describe that… I think when you’re that isolated… that’s the worst to not feel like you can connect to another being and not heal in that sense,” the performer shared.
Kelly also admitted that her mental health took a big hit while balancing her personal troubles and work responsibilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.”I would be like truth, completely balling right before we would be shooting and be like, ‘how do I fix this?’… It’s hard to keep smiling,” she confessed, noting that she even canceled a work obligation while battling a low-point.
ROCKY RELATIONSHIP“I could freely be giving it to anyone, and I’m freely giving it to you and only you. I think that’s so beautiful…[and some] people don’t agree.”
Kelly’s new album, Chemistry, is out on June 23, and features 14 songs inspired by her divorce.
Days earlier, Kelly also appeared on an episode of the podcast We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle.Kelly confessed that she and Brandon’s relationship has been rocky while navigating co-parenting their two children.”If there’s always this tug-of-war happening, like, ‘Oh my god, I love you, but god, I hate you, you are just horrible.’ That’s not healthy,” the talk show host shared at the time.
She continued: “That’s just emotionally going 9-0… but you finally get away from that, and you realize how ‘OK, this actually feels better.'”Kelly furthered on the podcast: “Any kind of dependency [in a relationship], I feel like takes away from what the core loving relationship should be. No, I don’t need you for any of that. I’m choosing you.