Kelly Clarkson Gives Emotional Message On 1,000th Episode Of Show, Has Yet To Explain Absence

Kelly Clarkson gave an emotional message this week as she reflected on the last six years of her talk show, but still has yet to explain her recent unexplained absence from the show.

During the taping of the 1,000th episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the host spoke to audience members and pointed out that she’s gone through a lot since the show started in 2019.

“We created a community and supported each other through a lot of ups and downs — a lot of ups and downs personally as well,” Clarkson said, without directly addressing the end of her marriage to Brandon Blackstock, with whom she shares two kids. The two were married for seven years before splitting in 2020 and their divorce was finalized in 2022, Page Six noted.

“For 1,000 episodes, we have laughed together, we have cried together with beautiful stories, sang together with some people, danced together, celebrated and competed together. I’ve lost, alone, a lot,” she added.

While the host didn’t explain exactly what she was referring to, when the audience seemed hesitant on how to respond, she assured them, “It’s OK!”

The host’s message was clearly emotional, but she never did address her mysterious absence for more than a week from hosting the show, which led to fans expressing concern that something was really wrong.

Kelly Clarkson finally returned to taping her show on March 13 after last helming the show on March 5.

At the time, Deadline reported that Clarkson was out due to a “private matter” and would start taping again on March 13, after various celebrities stepped in to host the show with no explanation as to why.

It all started when Kelly didn’t host her show on Monday, March 3. Her guest was actor Simu Liu, who let the audience know he was going to host. Liu had only found out minutes before the show was to start, People magazine reported.

“Kelly isn’t able to make it today. We’re sending her our very best,” Liu told the audience. “I did not know that I was doing this until about five minutes ago when I arrived to promote my new movie ‘Last Breath.’”

“I’m here now, and look, I’m not one to back down from a challenge,” he added.

Clarkson was back to host on Tuesday, March 4, and made no mention of her absence. She then hosted the show once more on Wednesday, March 5, with guests Jason Derulo and Nora Fatehi, who were promoting their musical collaboration “Snake,” the outlet noted.

A handful of celebrities stepped in over the next week to host the show before Clarkson finally returned.

Related: Kelly Clarkson Reportedly Returning To Show After Being MIA For A Week