Kelly Clarkson
Image via CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Kelly Clarkson Reveals Why Now Was the Right Time to End Her Talk Show

Up to this point, we've only heard from others why Kelly Clarkson is leaving her talk show. Now the host is speaking out.

We've known for a few weeks that Kelly Clarkson is stepping away from her talk show. 

Videos by Wide Open Country

Up until now, it seems like we've only heard from insiders and other members of her staff why the "Since U Been Gone" singer will be calling it quits at the end of The Kelly Clarkson Show's seventh season. 

The reasons are understandable, considering the death of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, in August 2025.

She wants to "move at a different pace and have more flexibility to spend time with her kids without the structure of a daily show," as we reported earlier this month. Clarkson is the mother of daughter River Rose, 11, and son Remy, 9. 

But now the host is speaking out about why now is the perfect time to bring The Kelly Clarkson Show to a close. 

Kelly Clarkson Says the "Dynamic Changed a Bit"

TODAY host Carson Daly spoke to Clarkson and John Legend to promote the 29th season of The Voice. While there, Daly asked Clarkson about why now seemed like a good time to relinquish her hosting duties. 

"I think everybody probably gets the timing," she said. "Our family life, the dynamic changed a bit, and it has changed for a minute now. You got kids, we've all got kids, and it's one of those things when you kind of start seeing life as how precious it is, too. It's like, 'You know what, I'm really busy.'"

Clarkson Says That "As a Momma," the Decision Was Easy

Since the show is still successful and she has a close relationship with its staff, Clarkson said the decision to step away was not easy. 

"That's what was really hard," she said. "I work with a lot of people here, too. The crew's been incredible; it wasn't that the show isn't doing well. That's what kind of sucked, everything was going well, and that's what was really hard. 

"That was a really hard thing for me, but an easy decision as a momma."

But as she pointed out to Daly, Clarkson is "still doing stuff." One of those jobs is a coach on The Voice. This upcoming season is dubbed "Battle of Champions." The four-time champion coach will face Adam Levine and Legend. 

"I have won the most, if you're counting," she pointed out. "It was part of my pitch."