Jill Biden opens up about her divorce during interview with Kelly Clarkson

First Lady Jill Biden has shared her advice for navigating divorce while reflecting on her own experience ending a marriage during a conversation with Kelly Clarkson.

Dr Biden discussed the topic during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she offered some motherly guidance to Clarkson, who recently filed for divorce from her husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock.

“I want to tell you Kelly, I mean this is what I would say to you if I were your mother,” the first lady said during a preview clip of the upcoming interview. “You know, my mother always said to me: ‘‘Things are going to look better tomorrow. And if you can take one day at a time, things will get better.’”

According to Dr Biden, she looks back on her own mother’s advice and realises that she was right, as she explained that she would not have met her husband President Joe Biden if she did not get divorced from her first husband, Bill Stevenson, who she was married to from 1970 to 1975.

“I look back on it now and I think, you know, if I hadn’t gotten divorced, I never would have met Joe. I wouldn’t have the beautiful family I have now,” the educator said. “So I really think things happen for the best.”

The first lady also assured Clarkson that she will “heal” over time, before joking that the 38-year-old will eventually call her one day and inform her that her advice was right.

“I think, Kelly, over time – I don’t know how long it’s been for you – but over time, you heal,” she said. “And you’re going to be surprised.”

Mr and Dr Biden have been together for nearly 44 years after marrying in 1977.

Clarkson and Blackstock, who share daughter River, six, and son Remington, four, announced their decision to separate in June 2020.

Since filing for divorce, Clarkson has been open about the difficulties of ending the marriage on both herself and her children.

“We have a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists because we want to do it right,” she said during an appearance on ExtraTV in October. “I definitely want to do it right. Everyone’s sad and it’s okay to be sad.”

The singer’s full interview with Dr Biden, which marks the first lady’s first solo interview since Inauguration Day, will air on Thursday 25 February.