Reba McEntire Recalls Raising Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock: Our Relationship Was ‘Precious’

Reba McEntire revealed her bond with former stepson Brandon Blackstock won’t soon be forgotten following his death earlier this year.

“My relationship with my stepson, Brandon Blackstock, was precious,” McEntire, 70, told People on Tuesday, October 21, following Blackstock’s death in August at the age of 48. “I absolutely loved that child.”

McEntire recalled Brandon coming into her life when he was 4 years old after she started dating his father, Narvel Blackstock, whom she wed in 1989. (Brandon followed in his father’s footsteps and became a music manager prior to his untimely death.)

“Then when Narvel and I got married, he was 13, 14,” the Voice coach remembered, noting that because Brandon was just a kid when they met, she was an active part of his upbringing.

“Along with his mom and dad, I helped raise him, along with [Narvel’s other kids] Shawna and Chassidy,” McEntire said. “They were my kids.” (McEntire and Narvel, 69, share one son, Shelby, 35.)

The country singer, who divorced Narvel in 1995, still has fond memories of Brandon, remembering him as the “funny” young child who loved to “pull pranks.”

“He loved to scare people,” McEntire revealed, noting Narvel’s employees at Starstruck Entertainment were some of his favorite targets. “We’d be at the office there at Starstruck in Nashville and I’d be sitting at my desk and I’d see Penny Chubb [a Starstruck Entertainment employee] walk by going to the lady’s room, and then here comes Brandon. He’d hide behind the pillar.”

McEntire laughed when thinking about Brandon as a kid standing for 10 minutes just “waiting to scare somebody.”

The Happy’s Place actress noted that the jokes didn’t stop there.

“If you ever parked your car in front of the house at a family dinner you better take your keys,” McEntire said of another one of Brandon’s go-to moves. “Or he would take that car and drive it all the way around to the greenhouse and you’d have to walk in the dark and go get your car.”

McEntire confessed, “I love to pull a good prank but he came by that naturally.”

She added that everyone in the family appreciated his “sense of humor,” adding that their lives are forever changed without him.

“Brandon is sorely missed, truly missed with his mischievousness and his love of life,” McEntire concluded. “He brought joy to everybody that met him, and we’ll never forget him.”

McEntire was married to Narvel for 26 years — and was the stepmother to his three children before welcoming their son Shelby in 1990 — before calling it quits in 1995. Narvel was also McEntire’s manager prior to their divorce.

When Brandon married Kelly Clarkson, McEntire’s bond with him and his then-wife only seemed to grow stronger. While Clarkson, 43, filed for divorce from Brandon in 2020 after seven years of marriage, she remained close to McEntire — as did her and Brandon’s children, River, 11, and Remy, 9. (Brandon was also the father of Savannah, 23, and Seth, 18, from his marriage to Melissa Ashworth.)

Us Weekly confirmed in August that Brandon died following a private battle with cancer.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” a rep for the family shared in a statement to Us. “Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”

The following month, McEntire gave an update on how Brandon’s kids were holding up.

“The kids are doing well, they’re all bonding together and hanging out with each other, and taking it one day at a time,” McEntire told Entertainment Tonight in September. “We know God’s got this.”

During the family’s heartbreak, McEntire has leaned on her fiancé, Rex Linn, whom she began dating in 2020. Us confirmed in September that Linn, 68, and McEntire are engaged. The singer later revealed that Linn popped the question in 2024.

“Rex brings out the little girl in me, and I have fun. I’m dorky, I’m goofy. He is too. We love to laugh, and we love each other,” McEntire exclusively told Us in October 2024.