Reba McEntire said on the Primetime Emmy Awards red carpet Sunday that the children of her former stepson, Brandon Blackstock, are "doing well" and are "bonding together" in the month since his death.
"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. "We know God’s got this." Brandon Blackstock, the ex-husband of singer Kelly Clarkson, died Aug. 7 at 48 after a multi-year battle with melanoma.
McEntire, 70, said the four children — Clarkson’s children Remy, 9, and River Rose, 11, and Blackstock’s older children with his first wife, Savannah, 23, and Seth, 18 — have been supporting one another. She also said her son, Shelby Blackstock, who is Brandon’s half-brother, is "doing great." Shelby, 35, posted a tribute to his late brother days after Brandon’s death; McEntire followed with a comment on his Instagram post that read, "Very well said Shelby. Yes we will miss him so much," accompanied by heart emojis.
A family representative said at the time of Brandon Blackstock’s death that he had "bravely battled cancer for more than three years" and "passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family." The statement asked for privacy for the family during the period of mourning.
The Emmys appearance also provided a moment of personal news for McEntire: she confirmed she and actor Rex Linn are engaged. The couple, who have been dating since 2020, allowed the revelation to surface after an interviewer referred to them as "fiancés" on the red carpet. McEntire and Linn, 68, first met in the 1990s and reconnected decades later; McEntire has said Linn reached out when she became ill in 2020, and the pair have remained close since.
McEntire and Linn also work together professionally. The two appear alongside each other on NBC's Happy’s Place, and their public appearances in recent years have drawn attention to their long-standing friendship and subsequent romance.
McEntire was married to Brandon’s father, Narvel Blackstock, from 1989 until their divorce in 2015. The extended family has contended with the public aspects of the couple’s prior relationships while navigating private grief. In their initial statement announcing Brandon Blackstock’s death, the family asked for privacy and thanked the public for thoughts and prayers.
McEntire’s remarks on the Emmys red carpet were brief and focused on the children’s welfare. She emphasized day-to-day care and familial support as the primary means by which the family is coping with the loss.