It’s official. Kelly Clarkson is no longer Kelly Clarkson. She is now legally Kelly Brianne.
Brianne was the singer’s middle name that she is now choosing to use as a last name by dropping her famous last name.
No, this doesn’t mean that her talk show is going to undergo a name change as well. It will still be called “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” It also doesn’t mean that her name will show up as Kelly Brianne in the credits of the show “American Song Contest” that she’s co-hosting with Snoop Dogg. Her name will still be credited as Kelly Clarkson.
Clarkson previously explained to PEOPLE that she was simply dropping the name Blackstock after her divorce from her ex Brandon Blackstock. She said, “I had to drop my married last name.” She added, “I just kept my middle name for my personal life.”
Clarkson clarified that she is still Kelly Clarkson and does not expect anyone to start calling her Kelly Brianne. She explained, “I don’t think I can change Clarkson at this point. I’m 20 years in.”
Professionally, the singer may still be Kelly Clarkson, but legally, that is not the case. On March 28, 2022, a California judge officially granted her name change request. Court documents state, “There being no objections, the petition for change of name is granted. The Decree is signed and filed. The Petitioner’s name is changed from KELLY BRIANNE CLARKSON to KELLY BRIANNE.”
While Clarkson seemed to claim to PEOPLE that she was dropping Blackstock from her last name, court documents seem to show that her name was legally Clarkson, not Blackstock before the recent name change. Previously, Clarkson explained that she wanted to change her name to Kelly Brianne because it “more fully reflects who I am.”
While her name change is official, she will not be able to completely put her divorce behind her. She has children after all and shared custody with her ex who gets custody of them one weekend every month. She is also required to pay her ex $45,600 each month in child support as well as another $115,000 a month in spousal support.
For his part, Blackstock is able to continue living on the Montana ranch that Clarkson would like to sell. While he’s living there, he is required to pay her $12,500 a month is rent. In addition, he is only legally able to live there until June. That’s coming up fast. Hopefully he is working on securing another place to live.