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Kelly Clarkson has opened up about one of the darkest periods of her life — the early days of her career.
The 35-year-old became a household name after taking out the top spot on American Idol’s first season in 2002, but with fame came years of unwanted scrutiny and the pressure to maintain a certain look.
“When I was really skinny, I wanted to kill myself,” she said in an interview with Attitude magazine. “I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense.”
“It was a very dark time for me,” she continued. “I thought the only way out was quitting. I like wrecked my knees and my feet because all I would do is put in headphones and run. I was at the gym all the time.”
Kelly said she was able to change her mentality during the release of her 2007 album My December.
“There’s a song on My December called ‘Sober,’” she told the publication. “There’s this line, ‘picked the weeds but kept the flowers’ and I just live my life by that because you are who you surround yourself with.”
“I was around some really negative people, and I got out of it because I had a lot of great people there, too,” she recalled. “It was a case of turning around, facing them and walking toward the light.”
Kelly found herself under constant scrutiny after shooting to fame on American Idol’s first season in 2002.
The “Because of You” singer has clarified her comments since the revealing interview was published, taking to social media to shoot down reports that she had suicidal thoughts because of her weight loss.
“Just to clear something up. I wasn’t ever miserable because I had to be thin,” she wrote on Twitter. “I said I was miserable and as a result I become thin … I’ve never contemplated suicide because of my weight.”
She added: “I said people had no idea I was unhappy oddly enough because I appeared healthy.”
WATCH: The singer-songwriter welcomed her second child last year — a boy! Post continues…
These days the singer is more confident in her body after having given birth to two darling children, River, three, and Remington, one, with her husband and manager Brandon Blackstock. But even this aspect of her life has been picked apart by members of the public.
Kelly recently received some nasty comments after posting a video to Instagram of her feeding her daughter Nutella on toast.
The hitmaker can be heard asking “River, do you like Nutella?” to which the cute bub replies “Yeah” before she does a little dance, much to the delight of her young mum.
WATCH: Kelly’s daughter enjoys her first taste of Nutella. Post continues…
While many commenters posted their own sweet messages in response, there were some who hit out at the star for feeding her daughter the sugary spread.
“Nutella is PACKED with sugars. Don’t make your kids blow up,” wrote one commenter.
“Nutella is hella bad for you,” wrote another.
Some who watched the video even went as far as to accuse the actress and author of mistreating her child, with one troll declaring “Giving food like this to a child is child abuse.”
The Piece by Piece singer chose not to respond to critics, but her fans did, by putting those who’d attacked her swiftly in their place.
“People need to get on with their own business and back off,” wrote one. “And if Nutella is soo bad for kids then why make it in the first place…”
“To all the nay sayers, I hope your lives are perfect, before judging anyone else. This baby girl is loved, in a safe and clean environment, and has parents who love her.”
Hear, hear!
