From duet to duo? A source tells OK! newly-single Kelly Clarkson has been "swooning" over country crooner Brett Eldredge, 34, her collaborator on the flirty new Christmas tune, "Under the Mistletoe."
"They spent lots of time together in the studio and on the phone, and really bonded while they were cutting this sexy song," says the source, adding that "there was some flirting going on."
But an insider warns that Clarkson, 38, is still stinging from her divorce from Brandon Blackstock (with whom she shares kids River, 6, and Remington, 4) — a painful process she admitted she "definitely didn't see.
"Kelly's swooning over Brett's handsome face and gentlemanly manners. On the one hand, it's just what she needs for her confidence," says the insider, "but there's genuine concern because Brett's a real lady-killer who could leave her brokenhearted." What happened to Miss Independent?
In June, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock, 43, after seven years of marriage. However, the blonde beauty noted that she wouldn't be talking about her relationship in public — and for good reason.
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"I am a very open person, but I'm not going to be able to be truly open about this in certain aspects because there's kids involved," she told the LA Times in an interview published in September. "I think that I will navigate a way in which to be open and honest about it eventually, probably via the show, and it'll probably, I'm assuming, happen organically when someone says something in conversation or something. It definitely wouldn't be planned."
Despite the breakup, OK! previously reported that Clarkson is in a good place these days. "The divorce is the hardest thing Kelly's ever done, but she's finally starting to look forward to the future," a source exclusively spilled.
"She was miserable in the marriage and has come to realize that leaving was necessary," the insider previously added. "She's saying she's learned a lot about herself."
