Reba McEntire spent time with her stepson Brandon Blackstock just five months before his shock death at age 48.

Brandon is the son of Reba’s ex-husband Narvel Blackstock, 68.

In the image taken in March in Houston, Texas, Reba has her arm around Brandon – the ex-husband of Kelly Clarkson – who wore a blue denim jacket and a brown cowboy hat. 

Various family members surrounded them. 

Although McEntire and Narvel divorced in 2015, she remained close with his older children, including Brandon.

‘Brandon’s been my son forever it seems, she told Entertainment Tonight in 2021. ‘Although he’s my stepson, I still love him like he’s my total — my blood.’ 

Reba McEntire spent time with her stepson Brandon Blackstock just months before his shock death at age 48. Brandon is the son of her ex-husband Narvel Blackstock, 68

In the image, Reba has her arm around Brandon – the ex-husband of Kelly Clarkson – who wore a blue denim jacket and a brown cowboy hat 

Blackstock lost his battle with cancer on Thursday. 

McEntire, 70, has not made any public comment about her loss, but over the years she was very open about her love for Blackstock.

‘I don’t consider Brandon, Chassidy and Shawna stepchildren,’ the I’m a Survivor  singer said on The Boot in 2010. ‘I claim them all.’

As a result, Clarkson, Brandon’s ex-wife, was her daughter-in-law for nearly a decade, and the two have remained good friends in spite of the pair’s bitter divorce.

The couple split in 2020 and finalized the dissolution of their marriage two years later. 

‘I love them both, Brandon’s my stepson, Kelly’s my good friend, and I’m pulling for them both. I hope they’re happy and healthy and pull through this… I love them both with all my heart,’ the Fancy artist told Extra  in October 2021.   

McEntire stayed true to her word. In an appeared in 2023 on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Clarkson said her and the Reba star’s relationship was still going strong. 

‘Brandon’s been my son forever it seems, she told Entertainment Tonight in 2021. ‘Although he’s my stepson, I still love him like he’s my total — my blood’;  Pictured in Frisco, TX in May 

The Fancy singer has also stayed close to former daughter-in-law Kelly Clarkson, 43;  Pictured with Narvel Blackstock, 68 in Phoenix is 2015

Clarkson shared her two children, River Rose, 11, and Remington, nine, with her former husband who died on Thursday after a battle with cancer 

‘We text each other all the time,’ she revealed.

‘I think we’re both women of sound mind that know that life doesn’t work out sometimes. She would know best. Literally the same thing. So yeah, no hard feelings there. Just feelings.’

In 2024, Shelby posted a family photo with McEntire and his siblings and Rodeo Houston.

Shelby, like his his mother, has not made a public statement about Brandon’s passing, but condolences have begun to roll in from fans. 

‘Praying for strength for you and your family,’ wrote one follower.

‘I am so sorry for your Loss Prayers to you and your Family,’ said another. 

Brandon Blackstock is survived by his and Clarkson’s children, River Rose, 11, Remington, nine, along with the children from his first marriage, Seth, age unknown, along with Savannah, 23, her husband Quetin Lee, and their son, Lake, three.