Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson: How Do Their Divorces Compare?

For years, Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson were married to father and son talent managers, Narvel and Brandon Blackstock. Clarkson and McEntire were friends, but Brandon was the country superstar’s stepson for nearly three decades.

Narvel Blackstock asked McEntire for a divorce in 2015 and the couple ended their 26-year marriage, seemingly fairly quickly and quietly. Then, Clarkson split from Brandon after seven marital years in 2020, but it took about two years to reach an agreement in that case. So, how else did those two Blackstock courtships and breakups compare?

Reba McEntire married Narvel Blackstock after their first divorces

After Narvel Blackstock joined McEntire’s band in 1980 and eventually became her manager, the two fell in love and married in 1989. McEntire shared in her autobiography, Reba: My Story, that was after they both ended their first marriages and took some time to be alone.

They had one son, Shelby, in 1990, and Blackstock had three kids from that previous marriage — one of which was Brandon. Fast forward to 2006 and Narvel was managing Clarkson’s career. That’s when she met Brandon for the first time. But he was married to his first wife, much like his dad was when he first met McEntire.

After the younger Blackstock’s first marriage was over, they reconnected at the 2012 Super Bowl where Clarkson performed the national anthem (per Good Housekeeping.) She later said she hoped to impress him with her singing and she apparently did. They became engaged, also in 2012, and married in 2013.

Brandon took over as Clarkson’s manager at some point, as his father had with McEntire.

Narvel Blackstock reportedly got $47.5 million in divorce from Reba McEntire

Narvel Blackstock grew unhappy and wanted to end his marriage, McEntire revealed following the couple’s 2015 divorce. She said she didn’t like the split but understood that it was best to move on if he wasn’t happy.

Yahoo Finance reported Blackstock allegedly received an astounding $47.5 million in the settlement, much more than his son eventually received.

The former couple released a joint statement to emphasize the union closed amicably. “Despite this being the end of their marriage, they continue to support each other,” they said. “They have worked together for 35 years and will continue to do so.”

But McEntire parted ways with Narvel Blackstock professionally soon after. She then took over managing her career.

Kelly Clarkson paid Brandon Blackstock $1.3 million in a divorce settlement, but she also pays him monthly

Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock broke up in 2020, and she filed for divorce after almost seven years. They had two children together in their marriage, and he had two from his first. From the outside, their split seemed a bit less peaceful than McEntire and the elder Blackstock.

Clarkson cited irreconcilable differences as her reason for filing and the divorce took two years to finalize. She told her audience on The Kelly Clarkson Show she went through a lot of change in her personal life in 2020 and “definitely didn’t see anything coming that came.”

“But what I’m dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart,” she explained, referring to their four kids. Despite their young children, Brandon didn’t seem to receive nearly as much money as his father.

The former couple eventually agreed for Clarkson to pay the younger Blackstock a $1.3 million settlement, plus more than $115,000 in spousal support and $45,000 in child support monthly, as reported by ET. Notably, the spousal support payments will end in January 2024.

Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire have moved on from their Blackstock divorces

Since 2020, McEntire has been dating actor Rex Linn and said he is the special partner she hoped for her whole life. They had known each other since 1991 and eventually reconnected right before the country went into pandemic lockdowns. The singer said they’ve grown inseparable since and have had conversations about marriage.

Clarkson, on the other hand, said she didn’t want to get married again following her divorce from Blackstock, though she’s open to the possibility of dating.