Kelly Clarkson on Being an Honest and Open Person: ‘Sometimes a Turd Is a Turd — You Can’t Polish It’

Kelly Clarkson loves to keep it real with her fans.

As Clarkson gears up for the release of her upcoming studio album chemistry, she opened up about what she learned after going through heartbreak and divorce during an interview on We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle on Tuesday.

“To not only be honest about those that are around me… but to be honest with myself,” the singer, 41, told the host of what she learned. “By no means do I think I’ve ever been a liar — I just think we mold things and shape them to justify them, instead of just being truly honest about what’s really happening because you don’t want it to be that way.”

She continued, “Be honest about… ‘I don’t really want that, that’s not for me.’ And being OK and comfortable enough, coming back to not having transactional relationships and that fear of losing something if you’re honest with them. Because you’re going to lose them anyway.”

The host went on to praise Clarkson for being someone who embodies “truth” for her openness and honesty.

The “Stronger” singer expressed how flattered she was and hilariously responded, “I think at a certain age we just get tired of trying to make everything shine. Sometimes a turd is a turd and you can’t polish it. Sometimes it’s what it is. It’s OK.”

Clarkson filed for divorce from ex Brandon Blackstock in 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage, and it was finalized two years later. The pair shares son Remington “Remy” Alexander, 7, and daughter River Rose, 8½.

In May, she revealed why she decided to call the album chemistry — which is heavily inspired by her divorce — in an interview with Nancy O’Dell on TalkShopLive.

“I never really connected before my ex-husband. And I never connected with anybody like that. I’d never felt that. That kind of chemical … that level of just chemical reaction, I just never felt that and I remembered the first time we even met, I was like, ‘Woah.’ I just felt something.”

The mother of two went on to open up about the ups and downs of having chemistry with someone, adding, “And then it can go very poorly, chemistry. You can have amazing chemistry with somebody who you really shouldn’t be with, you know. Not that one person is good or bad, whatever. It’s just not a healthy environment.”

“I just feel like chemistry is a beautiful and amazing thing, but it’s powerful for the good and the bad. Makes you do stupid stuff.”

She previously released songs “me,” “mine,” “favorite kind of high” and “i hate love.”

Clarkson will drop chemistry on June 23.