Jill Biden knows what Kelly Clarkson is experiencing as she goes through a divorce, but the first lady also knows there are better days ahead.
Biden, 69, gives her advice to Clarkson, 38, on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" Thursday about how to navigate a difficult time after Clarkson filed for divorce from her husband of nearly seven years in June.
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"This is what I would say to you if I were your mother," Biden said. "My mother always said to me, 'Things are going to look better tomorrow,' and if you can take one day at a time, and things will get better."
Biden married her first husband, Bill Stevenson, in 1970, and divorced him five years later. The year she got divorced, she met Joe Biden on a blind date set up by his brother. Biden's first wife, Neilia, died in a car crash in 1972 that also claimed the life of their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi.
Following that dark period for both of them, they began a romance that has stood the test of time. The Bidens have been married since 1977 and have raised a daughter, Ashley, 39, in addition to Joe's two sons, Hunter and Beau, from his first marriage. Beau Biden died at 46 from brain cancer in 2015.
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"You know, I look back on it now and I think, you know if I hadn't gotten divorced, I never would've met Joe," Biden told Clarkson. "I wouldn't have the beautiful family I have now."
Clarkson filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock in June, citing “irreconcilable differences” and requesting joint custody of their two children, River Rose, 6, and son Remington, 4.
She says she has maintained a cordial relationship with Blackstock, and even thanked him after winning an Emmy for outstanding entertainment talk show host just weeks after she filed for divorce.
However, she has been open about her struggles in the wake of the separation.
"I mean, it's no secret," she told Sunday TODAY's Willie Geist in September. "My life has been a little bit of a dumpster ... personally, it's been a little hard the last couple months."
She also spoke on her show in December about the hardest part being her concern for her kids as she goes through a public split.
Biden tried to assure her that things will get better.
"So I really think things happen for the best, and I don't know how long it's been for you, but I think over time you heal," she said. "You're gonna be surprised, and I can't wait until that day comes for you, and you're gonna call me up and you're gonna say, 'Hey, Jill, you were right!'"
This story first appeared on TODAY.com
