Reba McEntire Says Kelly Clarkson Is ‘Hanging In There’ After Brandon Blackstock’s Death

Reba McEntire gave fans an update on how her former daughter-in-law Kelly Clarkson and her children are doing since the death of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.

“Everybody’s hanging in there,” McEntire, 70, told Entertainment Tonight when asked about Clarkson and the former couple’s children, River Rose, 11, and Remy Alexander, 9, at the 2026 Grammys. “We miss Brandon so much. He was so much life, joy, love. He was a prankster and a character, and we all have a big text chain that we stay together and talk about him and remember him and they’re all excited about tonight also.”

Blackstock was one of several members of the music industry who were mentioned during the In Memoriam segment at the awards ceremony on Sunday, February 1. McEntire was previously married to Blackstock’s father, Narval Blackstock, and she spoke about his death with the outlet.

“I’ve got a lot of friends up on that big screen and my son, Brandon Blackstock, we let him go to heaven in August, so we’re gonna be celebrating him tonight also,” the “I’m a Survivor” singer said.

“We’ll miss him, and we’re hoping to be with him again someday soon,” she added.

Blackstock died at the age of 48 from melanoma, a type of skin cancer, in August. He and Clarkson, 43, finalized their divorce in 2022 after being married for nine years.

Clarkson had previously given fans an update on how she and the children were handling the loss in January during an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.

“There’s been a lot for our family recently, and so I have allowed my kids to sleep with me quite a bit,” the former American Idol winner said at the time. “It’s my two dogs, my two kids and me. It’s a lot. It’s been really special, though, because… the conversations you have during that time are pretty cute. So that’s probably my favorite time of day.”