Songfacts®:

• "I Hate Love" is a pop-punk anthem by Kelly Clarkson that delves into the intricate emotional challenges often intertwined with love. Recorded for her album Chemistry, the track serves as a window into the tumultuous journey of a relationship, encapsulating the wide range of feelings encountered from its inception to its conclusion.
  
  Even when I know it's bad for me
  These memories fill my mind
  Why do you smell so good?
  You know I love that cologne
  Why do I want what I shouldn't?
  Why can't I leave it alone?
  
  To help promote Chemistry, on April 24, 2023, Clarkson performed the entire album at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles. Introducing "I Hate Love" to the audience, Clarkson said, "This next song, man, this is so cool. I am well also pissed, but the here's the thing, it's because the chemistry factor, right like you can't stand the person but like you love them and you're just like, why? And anyway, that's the Dilemma, right?"
• In 2013, Kelly Clarkson married Brandon Blackstock, the stepson of the country star Reba McEntire, but their love story unraveled into a messy divorce. After a protracted and acrimonious legal battle, the split was finalized in 2022.
  
  Reflecting on her nearly decade-long marriage and divorce, Clarkson found solace and insight in a pair of films from the 2000s that highlight the disparity between youthful idealism and the complicated realities of adult relationships. She took inspiration from the romanticized portrayal presented in The Notebook (2004), featuring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, and the more nuanced and complex representation found in It's Complicated (2009), starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin.
  
  I hate love
  And The Notebook lied
  It's Complicated is more like what happens
  So you can keep Gosling and I'll take Steve Martin
  I hate love
  And all its shine
  Not all that glitters is golden
  And sometimes love can leave you behind
  
  Clarkson juxtaposes the allure of Gosling's character in The Notebook with the gritty truth of Streep's journey in It's Complicated. In the latter movie, Streep's character faces an inner turmoil as she grapples with her ex-husband's infidelity, symbolized by Baldwin's character and the genuine connection she discovers with Martin's affable architect. "I feel like both exist," Clarkson told Billboard of the love stories from the two movies. "One is the beginning, when everything is bright and shiny, and It's Complicated is more the reality."
• It's Complicated also inspired an unexpected instrumental addition. In the early days of the pandemic, Kelly Clarkson found solace in watching livestream videos of Steve Martin playing the banjo. She found his music to be a welcome distraction while she immersed herself in writing her new project, and this sparked an idea within her, one she shared with her producer, Jesse Shatkin: Why not elevate the lyrical reference in "I Hate Love" by incorporating Martin's banjo into the anti-love anthem?
  
  Shatkin loved the idea. As the producer explained to Billboard, with Kelly's connections, reaching out to anyone was a breeze. True to his words, with a single e-mail, Martin was on board.
  
  Usually reluctant to ask for favors, Clarkson was pleasantly surprised when, within hours, Martin replied saying he was eager to contribute.
  
  Shatkin journeyed to Martin's home for the recording session. There he encountered a consummate professional musician, distinct from the iconic Saturday Night Live guest and film star he'd grown up watching.
  
  Initially intended to be a brief recording session, it evolved into an extended jam lasting a couple of hours. Martin demonstrated his exceptional banjo skills and a genuine commitment to getting the performance just right.
• Clarkson and Shatkin co-wrote "I Hate Love" with Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Clarkson and Jonas go back a long way. Back in 2005, while working on their debut studio album, Nick and his brothers toured with the American Idol alumna.
• Clarkson wrote songs like this one as a kind of therapy to help her sort out her divorce. Some of them are very specific, but we'll never hear them. "Those are just for me," she said on Conan O'Brien's podcast.