Kelly Clarkson became emotional over her two children during the 1,000th episode celebration of The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday.

The Breakaway songstress, 42 — who returned to her daytime talk show after a mysterious absence due to a ‘private matter’ — watched a special montage of her daughter River, 10, and son Remington, eight, on the series from over the years.

She shares her kids with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock — whom she was married to from 2013 until their divorce was finalized in 2022.

Before the adorable reel played for both Clarkson and the live audience, the star revealed that she hadn’t seen the montage yet and joked ‘you’re crying, I’m not.’

The clip showcased moments of River and Remington joining their mother on the set of the talk show as well as the little ones mingling with celebrity guests.

It concluded with Kelly sharing a loving embrace with her children and she then expressed to the crowd, ‘That was really sweet.’

Kelly Clarkson, 42, became emotional over her two children during the 1,000th episode celebration of The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday

While looking visibly emotional, Clarkson lifted her hands to her face to wipe away a few tears from under her eyes while saying, ‘Oh, that was really sweet. And look, I kept it together you guys.’ 

The beauty also shared a moving message to her kids and stated, ‘River and Remy, I love you so much. I’m so proud of you both.

Read More Kelly Clarkson sparks concern with cryptic comment as she returns to talk show after 10-day absence

‘They’re just fearless and very bold. They’re more like me as an adult, not what I was like as a child, so they talk a lot too.’

The performer added, ‘You are what I’m liking today, my little ones, and every day I love them so much.’

Earlier this year in January, both River and Remington made guest appearances on her talk show — which first began airing back in 2019. 

The trio discussed Remington’s performance of Frank Sinatra’s hit song My Way – and how it had gone viral after garnering over a million views. 

Kelly had asked her son at the time, ‘How did you feel about the clip going viral there? Remember when I came and I told you? It was like, “Everybody’s loving your video!”‘

The eight-year-old then humorously questioned how many views the clip had gotten and Clarkson informed the audience ‘how it went down.’ 

She shares her kids with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock — whom she was married to from 2013 until their divorce was finalized in 2022

While looking visibly emotional, Clarkson then lifted her hands to her face to wipe away a few tears from under her eyes while saying, ‘Oh, that was really sweet. And look, I kept it together you guys’

The performer added, ‘You are what I’m liking today, my little ones, and every day I love them so much’

Earlier this year in January, both River and Remington made guest appearances on her talk show — which first began airing back in 2019

She recalled, ‘I said, “Man, buddy, you’ve got over a million views I think on your ” – and he goes, “Do you get that many views?” I was like, “Calm down. And not often.”‘ 

While the singer co-parents with her ex, Clarkson has opened about about parenting and last year, revealed to People that she has banned her kids from using social media. 

‘That can be really hard on kids in general, but especially kids with parents in the public eye. So I have informed them they’re not allowed to, under my roof, ever have [it].’ 

Kelly also told the outlet that she felt she was doing a ‘good job’ when it came to parenting and expressed, ‘I can be hard on myself as a mom, but I think I’m doing a good job. 

‘I like that they’re independent, but I’m adamant about my schedule, making sure I’m there as much as I can be. There’s no perfect parent; I’m definitely screwing up my children somehow! But I’m doing my best.’ 

The star’s emotional reaction to her kids during Thursday’s celebration comes shortly after Clarkson sparked concern among fans when she was notably absent from the talk show for 10 episodes. 

And on Thursday, she fueled worry with a cryptic comment she made as she returned to the series. She got candid after she made her return, and in celebration her milestone episode, she admitted she’s ‘lost, alone, a lot.’ 

During the taping, the Grammy-winning singer reflected on her journey since she debuted her show in September 2019 on NBC.

She did not address her recent absence but vaguely spoke about having gone through ‘a lot of ups and downs’ in the past during a heartfelt speech.

While the singer co-parents with her ex, Clarkson has opened about about parenting and last year, revealed to People that she has banned her kids from using social media; seen in 2018 in Anaheim 

On social media, fans shared their worries about her well-being — but also simultaneously applauded her for her stunning cover of I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston to celebrate six successful seasons of her show.

‘Welcome to the Kelly Clarkson Show and our 1,000th episode,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe today marks the 1,000th. It’s crazy.’

She continued: ‘We have met some hugely talented people, tons of big stars and inspiring everyday heroes.’

She gushed about how she, her team and her fans have ‘created a community and supported each other through a lot of ups and downs.’

Seemingly referencing her own life and the ‘personal matter’ she has been dealing with lately, she jokingly added: ‘A lot of ups and downs personally as well.’

The American Idol alum reflected on hosting her show during the COVID-19 pandemic and taping episodes when she had various injuries over the years, including when she had ‘an eye patch and with my leg in a cast.’

Throughout all of the memories, she joked that she ‘still can’t cook.’

‘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,’ she said about the emotional moments.

‘I’ve lost, alone, a lot,’ she added, without any additional details nor clarification.

She got candid after she made her return, and in celebration her milestone episode, she admitted she’s ‘lost, alone, a lot’; seen with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2018 

She gushed about how she, her team and her fans have ‘created a community and supported each other through a lot of ups and downs’

She may be referring to her divorce as she and her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock were married for nearly seven years before calling it quits in June 2020. 

She sued Blackstock last year after accusing him of making unauthorized business deals on her behalf. 

They settled their lawsuits over commissions in May 2024, ending a contentious legal battle that began after their divorce was finalized two years earlier.

In addition to the dissolution of her marriage and their legal disputes, she also embarked on a major weight loss journey in the past couple of years.

‘It’s okay,’ she said to her audience as they reacted to her heartfelt speech during her milestone episode.

‘And along the way, we found comfort in one another. And looking back, we are all incredibly proud of what we’ve built and the community we’ve created,’ she said.

‘I am grateful to everyone who has been a part of this journey. It has been such a cool time. Thank you so much.’

‘And along the way, we found comfort in one another. And looking back, we are all incredibly proud of what we’ve built and the community we’ve created,’ she said; seen in 2024 in Ohio

This comes just a couple days after Clarkson returned to her hosting duties after a mysterious absence from her talk show.

She did not address why she was away from the show for 10 episodes, during which she relied on guest hosts, such as Molly Sims and Brooke Shields.

During the episode, she was joined by Severance star Adam Scott as a guest and sang with My Band Y’all as they covered Flames by New Zealand artist Will Swinton.

Even though she returned on Tuesday, she was out again on Wednesday with Andy Cohen as a guest host in her place, before she came back on Thursday for the milestone episode.