Reba McEntire’s Deep Family Connection to Late Brandon Blackstock — and the Bond That Endured Through Divorce
The country music world was shaken this week by the news that Brandon Blackstock — talent manager, father of four, and ex-husband of singer Kelly Clarkson — has died at the age of 48 after a more than three-year battle with cancer. But to country legend Reba McEntire, Blackstock was more than a familiar name in the music business — he was family.
Blackstock’s passing was confirmed in a statement from his family on Thursday, August 7, describing him as having “bravely battled cancer” before passing away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. The announcement came just a day after Clarkson, 43, revealed she was postponing her Las Vegas residency dates for August to be with her children, River Rose, 11, and Remington “Remy,” 9.
For McEntire, the loss is deeply personal. She became Brandon’s stepmother in 1989 when she married his father, music manager Narvel Blackstock. Over the course of their 26-year marriage, Reba and Narvel built a blended family, raising Brandon alongside Narvel’s other children and their only son together, race car driver Shelby Blackstock. Even after Reba and Narvel’s 2015 divorce, the bonds with her stepchildren remained intact.
McEntire’s connection to Brandon extended into her relationship with Clarkson, who married him in 2013 after first meeting backstage at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006. Over the years, Reba became not just a stepmother to Brandon, but also a “grandma” to his children — including the two he shared with Clarkson. Speaking to People in 2018, McEntire warmly referred to River Rose and Remy as her grandchildren. “I don’t ever see the grandkids!” she joked at the time. “It was a lot better when everybody was not so busy, but I’ve got seven grandchildren, so they’re scattered all over the country and busy doing stuff — but I love them.”
When Clarkson and Brandon announced their separation in 2020, McEntire was careful not to take sides. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she spoke with characteristic warmth and diplomacy: “Brandon’s been my son forever it seems. Although he’s my stepson, I still love him like he’s my blood, so I’m praying for ’em both ’cause I love ’em both.” She made it clear that her affection for Clarkson remained unchanged, adding, “Kelly and I do talk, we text and I love them both… I can’t play favorites because I’ve been a friend of Kelly for a long time.”
That mutual respect has continued in the years since. In 2023, Clarkson told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live! that she and McEntire “text each other all the time,” noting they are “both women of sound mind that know that life doesn’t work out sometimes.” Clarkson added that Reba “would know best” — a nod to the fact that McEntire had experienced her own divorce from Narvel, Brandon’s father.
Reba McEntire’s career achievements are well known: three Grammy Awards, 17 nominations, an enduring legacy as one of country music’s most influential voices, and a successful acting career that includes her self-titled sitcom Reba (2001–2007) and her current role on NBC’s Happy’s Place, which returns for a second season this fall. Yet for all her fame, her devotion to family has remained central to her identity — whether through her biological son Shelby, her stepchildren, or the grandchildren she embraces as her own.
Now, with the passing of Brandon Blackstock, that family has lost a beloved son, father, and grandfather. For Reba, Clarkson, and all who loved him, his absence will be felt deeply — but so too will the legacy of the relationships he helped weave together, connections that even divorce could not sever.