Kelly's RUSH To THE ALTAR

THE STAR IS HEALING FROM HEARTACHE WITH A HOT NEW ROMANCE. BUT AS SHE TELLS PALS SHE’S READY TO WED AGAIN, SOME ARE WORRIED SHE’S MOVING WAY TOO FAST.

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KELLY CLARKSON isn’t one to sugarcoat the less-than-pretty aspects of her life. So in mid-October, when she opened up about her recent split from Brandon Blackstock after seven years of marriage, the syndicated talk show host kept it real. “Divorce is never easy,” said the solemn star, who separated from her music manager and the father of her two children, River Rose, 6, and 4-year-old Remington, in June. “It is the worst,” she added in the candid chat. “The past few months have been horribly sad.”

Just four weeks later, the superstar crooner is singing a different tune. As insiders tell Star exclusively, the Kelly Clarkson Show headliner is secretly smitten with a new guy! “She’s far from the depressed, gloomy person she was a few months ago,” says one source. “She’s got that Kelly spark again.” The source says the 38-year-old is positively giddy over her hot new romance — so much so, she’s even thinking about getting married again! “Kelly says she knew right away that this guy could be her next husband,” the source reveals, acknowledging that the “Since U Been Gone” singer is moving at warp speed. “She’s absolutely rushing things, but she says she doesn’t care. She’s on cloud nine.”

While a second source allows that a few pals are wondering whether the mystery man in question could be country singer