Jill Biden tells Kelly Clarkson about her divorce in first solo interview as First Lady

Jill Biden offered some motherly words of wisdom about divorce to Kelly Clarkson in her first solo interview as First Lady – and said the first thing she’s going to do post-pandemic is drink a martini and eat french fries.

Dr. Jill, 69, made the comments during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, which was filmed inside the White House and is due to air on Thursday.

Her advice came after American Idol winner Clarkson filed for divorce from her ex-partner Brandon Blackstock last June.

The First Lady shared a candid exchange about the challenges of moving on from a relationship, but also the good that can come from change.

Jill, who divorced from her first husband Bill Stevenson in 1975, told Clarkson: ‘I want to tell you Kelly. I mean, this is what I’d say to you if I was your mother. 

‘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 – and things will get better.’

Jill then told the singer-turned-host: ‘I look back on it now and I think, if I hadn’t got divorced, I wouldn’t have met Joe. I wouldn’t have the beautiful family that I have now. So, I really think things happen for the best.

‘And I think Kelly, over time – I don’t know how long it’s been for you – but overtime you heal, and you’re going to be surprised and I can’t wait till that day comes for you.’

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Clarkson appeared inspired by Jill’s response, intermittently offering an affirmative ‘yeah’ to her as she was speaking. 

‘You’re going to call me up [one day],’ Jill continued, ‘you’re going to call me up and say “Hey, Jill. You were right”.’

Jill and Joe Biden have often publicly stated that they began dating more than 40 years ago after falling in love on a blind date.

However Jill’s former husband Stevenson claims their marriage actually broke down because she had an affair with now-President Biden, the DailyMail.com exclusively revealed in August.

Speaking from his Wilmington Delaware home last year, the 72-year-old told DailyMail.com: ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone. But the facts are the facts and what happened, happened.’ 

Stevenson claims he first suspected Biden and Jill were having an affair in August 1974, before the couple split in October of that year. 

But the way the Bidens tell their love story, Joe saw a picture of Jill in March 1975 — after her marriage had crashed.

She was in an advertisement for local parks that he saw while passing through Wilmington Airport with his brother Frank. He told Frank that was the kind of girl he would like to date and Frank said: ‘Why don’t you then? I know her,’ and passed on her number, according to Jill’s 2019 autobiography Where The Light Enters.

The preview clip from Clarkson’s show did not reveal whether Jill spoke further about her divorce during her latest interview.

Clarkson herself filed for divorce from Blackstock after seven years of marriage last summer and later won primary custody of their two children. 

However, he’s seeking substantial spousal and child support, and in December she started another legal battle by accusing him of defrauding her out of millions of dollars. 

On a lighter note, ahead of the interview’s airing tomorrow, The Kelly Clarkson Show also shared another clip of the host’s exchange with Jill, in which she revealed what she’s most looking forward to doing in a world post-coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Jill was asked the question by a virtual member of Clarkson’s audience. 

‘I don’t know’, Jill said, momentarily pausing for thought. ‘Maybe go and have a martini and some french fries.’ 

The relatable response prompted an animated reaction from Clarkson, who yelled: ‘Yes! I knew I love you. I love that idea!’

Jill then asked the audience member what his plans were for when the pandemic passes. She then told him, ‘God bless you for all that you’re doing – thank you!’

Biden has previously described herself as a ‘pretty healthy eater’, saying she rarely indulges in junk food or sugar drinks, meaning her consumption of french fries could come as some-what of a post-pandemic splurge for the 69-year-old.

‘I didn’t grow up with a lot of snack foods in our home. My mother never bought soda, and she got those cookies I hated,’ she told Self Magazine in 2016. ‘So I think that has sort of carried through.’ 

However, he comments on The Kelly Clarkson Show have gone down a storm on Twitter, after the show shared a teaser of the interview on Wednesday.

‘FLOTUS is so down to earth and smart,’ one viewer wrote in response. ‘Can’t wait to [see] this interview!’

Another added: ‘I love Dr. Biden. She just seems like the nice neighborhood mom that always has the nice popsicles. Just so nice and so smart.’ 

According to Deadline, in the rest of the interview, Dr. Jill and Clarkson will also discuss the First Lady’s commitments to education, military families, cancer research, and bringing the country together.

Clarkson and her musical director, Jason Halbert, will also do a special Kellyoke performance in the East Room of the White House, taking a request from the First Lady. 

Thursday’s White House special will also mark Clarkson’s first ever interview of a First Lady. Her show is currently in its second season, having premiered in September 2019 to replace Steve Harvey’s eponymous talk show.  

Despite being in her freshman years of talk-show hosting, The Kelly Clarkson Show has become a smash-hit success, and quickly became the most watched new daytime talk show in seven years.  

In addition to airing across the US, it also airs on other networks in Canada, Norway, and New Zealand, and has already been renewed for a third and fourth season.

It won three Daytime Emmys in 2020, including Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for Clarkson, and has been nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award two years in a row.

In December, the show’s ratings were so high that they tied with the Ellen DeGeneres for third place in talk shows, according to TV News Check, behind only Live with Kelly and Ryan and Dr. Phil.

In fact, Page Six even reported last month that Kelly’s show could take Ellen’s 3pm time slot if her successes continue. 

While Kelly didn’t explicitly endorse President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, she has shared her political opinions in the past, including her distaste for Donald Trump.

In 2016, when fellow musician Bette Midler tweeted, ‘How can we live with a POTUS for four years who says things like “I could walk down Fifth Ave., shoot someone, and still not lose any votes?’ — Kelly responded, ‘I am legitimately frightened for our nation.’

Overall, though, her public political opinions have been quite mixed. Hailing from a red county near Fort Worth, Texas, she said ahead of the 2012 election: ‘I’m probably going to vote for Obama again, even though I’m a Republican at heart.’

She told the Daily Star that she couldn’t vote for Mitt Romney because of his stance against marriage equality, saying: ‘I have a lot of gay friends and I don’t think it’s fair they can’t get married.’

She also sang at former President Barack Obama’s inauguration and performed on the Michelle Obama song ‘This Is for My Girls.’

However, she also voiced support for Former U.S. Representative for Texas Ron Paul in 2012, tweeting that she ‘loves’ the Libertarian politician.

‘I liked him a lot during the last Republican nomination and no one gave him a chance,’ she said. ‘If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012 he’s got my vote. Too bad he probably won’t.’

The Kelly Clarkson Show: White House Edition with the First Lady, Jill Biden will air on NBC on Thursday, February 25, at 3pm ET