Kelly Clarkson Says Motherhood Made Her “Next Level Confident”

Kelly Clarkson has four children and is very happy. That wasn't always the case, she tells Good Housekeeping. Initially, fame put her in a "very dark place." But she's found happiness in her husband, her two stepchildren, and the two children she's borne. She tells the magazine that she constantly thinks of giving up her singing life. She likes the actual singing, and meeting fans, but hates traveling away from her family. "Oh, all the time. I mean, I'm always going to be a singer, but the level I'm at…I have constant guilt," Clarkson tells Good Housekeeping. "I don't have to work; I think it's because I have that option that I feel the guilt. But it's important for my girls, especially, to see me as a woman accomplishing all these things while nailing it as a mom. I always come back to that." Not only that, but motherhood has changed her life in positive personal ways. "I sound like such a tool, but becoming a mother has made me next-level confident," Clarkson tells Good Housekeeping. "I've never felt more empowered. I feel like my 20s were spent walking on eggshells making sure everyone felt loved and not really expressing my opinion. As a mom, you just don't have time, so you get straight to the point. I go to bed every night and the list of what I've accomplished is astounding." Not to sound like Liz Lemon, but Kelly Clarkson apparently really can have it all. All of it except writing for a failing sketch comedy show starring two talented but troubled goofballs that can't stop getting into wacky hijinks while she tries to keep her stern but kind boss happy. But we're sure that's available, if she wants it.