Kelly Clarkson Says Ending Her Talk Show After 7 Seasons Was ‘A Really Hard Thing’ 

Kelly Clarkson made the right decision for her family to end The Kelly Clarkson Show after seven seasons.

“I think everybody probably gets the timing,” Clarkson, 43, said on the Friday, February 20, episode of Today. “Our family life, the dynamic changed a bit, and it has changed for a minute now, so I think … it’s one of those things when you kinda start seeing life with how it is precious, too.”

Clarkson announced earlier this month that she was walking away from her self-titled daytime series to focus on her kids. Clarkson shared River Rose, 11, and Remington, 9, with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, who died in 2025 at 48 after a battle with cancer. (Blackstock is also survived by his two older children from a previous marriage.)

“I know everybody thinks, ‘Oh, she’s quitting,’ but I still have other jobs,” Clarkson stressed to Today anchor Carson Daly. “I’m still doing stuff. There’s just too much on the plate. So I was like, you know what, it’s time to kinda pull back.”

She continued, “It’s amazing, that’s what was really hard [because] the crew’s been incredible. … That was a really hard thing for me, but an easy decision there as a momma.”

The Kelly Clarkson Show premiered on NBC in September 2019, with Clarkson filming the show from Los Angeles. The singer relocated production to New York City in fall 2023 amid her family’s move to the East Coast.

“I talked to my crew back in January through tears because I have built such an amazing group of people,” Clarkson said during a TalkShopLive stream in May 2023. “Obviously, we’ve been very successful and I love everybody I work with and we have such great relationships. I was like, ‘Guys I need you to know what’s happening. It’s either I’m not going to be able to continue with the show or I got to go the East Coast.’”

She continued, “My family is [on the] East Coast. They’re North Carolina-based. It was one of those things where I just had to. Also, there were a lot of personal things going on, too. I feel like our family — me and my kids — really needed a fresh start and I just could not get it here [in Los Angeles]. There was just hurdle after hurdle with things.”

While announcing that The Kelly Clarkson Show’s seventh season would be its last, Clarkson gushed over the community she built behind the scenes.

“I have been extremely fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of people at The Kelly Clarkson Show, both in Los Angeles and New York,” she said in a statement shared with Us Weekly. “There have been so many amazing moments and shows over these seven seasons. I am forever grateful and honored to have worked alongside the greatest band and crew you could hope for, all the talent and inspiring people who have shared their time and lives with us, all the fans who have supported our show and to NBC for always being such a supportive and incredible partner.”

Clarkson added at the time, “Because of all of that, this was not an easy decision, but this season will be my last hosting The Kelly Clarkson Show. Stepping away from the daily schedule will allow me to prioritize my kids, which feels necessary and right for this next chapter of our lives.”

Clarkson further stressed that “this isn’t goodbye” as she planned to continue making music, performing shows and appearing on The Voice “from time to time.”

“You never know where I might show up next,” she concluded in her statement. “But for now, I want to thank y’all so much for allowing our show to be a part of your lives, and for believing in us and hanging with us for seven incredible years.”