Kelly Clarkson absence from her talk show in the spring was due to ex-husband Brandon Blackstock's illness, sources tell PEOPLE.

Clarkson and Blackstock, who was country legend Reba McEntire's stepson, first met in 2006 during a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards and reconnected years later at the Super Bowl. They married in 2013 and had two children: daughter River, 11, and son Remy, 9.

The ‘Miss Independent’ artist filed for divorce in 2020 after she and Brandon quarantined together at their Montana ranch during the COVID-19 pandemic.