Kelly Clarkson is a pop singer with millions of adoring fans. But it turns out Ms. Clarkson is a fan herself…of Jane Austen! Kelly Clarkson purchased a ring, at auction, that was once owned by Jane Austen along with a first edition of her book Persuasion. Kelly spent approximately $250,000 on the ring but soon discovered that she was unable to take the ring out of the UK because it is a national treasure.
But fear not! For Christmas, Kelly’s fiance Brandon Blackstock, 36, surprised Clarkson, 30, with a replica of the ring once owned by Jane Austen.
“They claimed it as a national treasure and I can’t take it out of the United Kingdom,” she explains. “Behind my back, Brandon was trying to get that ring out of the country as my engagement ring. He was trying to work with my lawyer and they wouldn’t do it.”
Instead, Blackstock asked Beverly Hills jewelry designer Johnathon Arndt, who made Clarkson’s engagement ring, to create a replica of the Austen ring.
“It looks just like [the original] except he embellished the gold with diamonds,” says the singer, who wore the ring during her performance at the presidential Inauguration in January. “I’m such a hopeless romantic,” she says. “Obviously — I’m a Jane Austen fan!”
Kelly will soon take her Jane Austen obsession one step further. According to an interview in People Magazine, Kelly is planning a family photo in period-inspired clothing at the Temple of Apollo on an estate in England where the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was shot. “We’re getting decked out. Brandon’s gonna look like Mr. Darcy!”
