Reba McEntire loved Brandon Blackstock like he was her 'blood’

Reba McEntire had a very special bond with Brandon Blackstock, the now deceased ex-husband of Kelly Clarkson.

The 70-year-old country music icon was Blackstock’s former stepmother - she was married to his father Narvel Blackstock, for 26 years.

“Brandon’s been my son forever it seems,” she told Entertainment Tonight back in 2021.

The exes share son Shelby Blackstock, 35, as well as Narvel’s three children, Brandon, Chassidy and Shawna, from his previous marriage to Melissa Ashworth.

“I don’t consider Brandon, Chassidy and Shawna stepchildren. I claim them all!” McEntire told The Boot back in 2010.

Over the years, McEntire and Kelly Clarkson opened up about their connection. McEntire was a guest on “The Kelly Clarkson” show, where the host exclaims, “I ended up marrying your oldest son, and you got stuck with me more, to which McEntire replied, “Thank goodness, thank goodness.”

When Clarkson and Brandon revealed their split in 2020, McEntire made the decision to stay out of the drama between her chosen son and her longtime friend.

“Kelly and I do talk, we text and I love them both, and so I can’t play favorites because I’ve been a friend of Kelly for a long time,” she tells ET in 2021.

Clarkson also admitted there’s no contention between the singers as her divorce grew more tumultuous.

“I mean, we were friends before Brandon and I even got together. We text each other all the time. I think we’re both women of sound mind that know life doesn’t work out sometimes. She would know best. Literally the same thing. So yeah, no hard feelings there. Just feelings,” she said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.”

Less than five months prior to his death, Brandon had a night out at RodeoHouston with his brother Shelby and stepmother, McEntire, who also brought her boyfriend Rex Linn.

"Family time, the @rodeohouston , & corn dogs! We had a blast in Houston watching @rissablackstock experience her first rodeo & being able to spend cherished time with family! Mom's concert was the icing on the cake!" the caption reads.

In the IG carousel shared by Shelby, you see him and his wife, Marissa, posing with their blended family, including Brandon’s two children, whom he shares with Clarkson.

After his divorce from the “American Idol” winner, he took himself out of the limelight to work as a rancher in Montana. Clarkson also supported her ex during his cancer battle. She canceled a handful of dates for her Las Vegas residency to be with her ex-husband and their children.

Brandon Blackstock is survived by his four children, Savannah, Seth, River and Remington, his father Narvel Blackstock and his mother Elisa Gayle Ritter, his grandson and his brother and sisters.