Kelly Clarkson's divorce was always bound to be costly, but even among the eye-popping settlements typical of celeb divorces, her ex's recent request for spousal and child support is massive. Brandon Blackstock is asking the singer and talk show host for nearly half a million dollars per month in new documents filed by his attorneys.
TMZ reports that Blackstock is requesting $301,000 in spousal support and $135,000 for child support, for a total of $436,000 every single month. If your math is a little rusty, that's about $5.2 million per year going to Clarkson's former husband. On top of that, he's requesting Clarkson cover his $2 million in attorney fees.
The staggering numbers are made even starker when you realize that Blackstock would not be the primary caregiver of the couple's two children. A judge awarded Clarkson custody over their kids, exempting one weekend a month where the children would travel to Montana to live on Blackstock's ranch. Blackstock is also allowed to take custody of the children for two weekends a month in Clarkson's hometown of Los Angeles, but he must travel to L.A. to meet them. The ruling was reached by the court, citing the fact that California is the family's primary residence.
"The court finds that the minor children are not now and have not been residents of Montana and that California is their home state," the court said.
Clarkson married Blackstock six years ago and filed for divorce in June. In a recent interview on her talk show, she said that deciding what will be done with their children was the most difficult aspect.
"There are so many hard parts," she said. "The hardest for me is the kids, that's the hardest for me. I think, as women especially, we're trained ... to take it all on and you can deal with it and you're fine, but it's your babies that you worry about."
