Tragic Details About Reba McEntire & Narvel Blackstock's Marriage

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Reba McEntire met her future husband Narvel Blackstock when he joined her band in 1980 during her marriage to rancher and steer-wrestling champion Charlie Battles. As she recalled in her book, "Reba: My Story," she and her bandmates were looking for a guitar player to fill a spot in their lineup when Narvel swooped in and walked into her life. Over the next several years, she would lean on him not just as a friend but as her manager; it was, in fact, Narvel who served as her rock during her divorce from Battles — though their relationship didn't become romantic until much later.

"It took a full nine months before Narvel and I decided that we truly wanted to be a couple," the country star wrote. Following their respective divorces, they tied the knot in 1989 and welcomed a son together, Shelby Blackstock. Their marriage lasted close to 30 years before the two announced they were separating in 2015, much to everyone (and their mother's) shock. McEntire has since opened up about the breakup, describing it as one of the hardest and most painful chapters of her life. 

"I have a long list and so many questions for God. Why did this happen? How did you allow that?" she told Parade. For a while, she struggled to find the answers. "It's taken me [a long time] to pull through [the] why and how," she said. But little by little, she picked up the pieces and carried on.

Turns out, Reba McEntire's divorce from Narvel Blackstock came as a surprise — even to her. Just months after their divorce was finalized, she told CMT's Cody Alan that she had been completely blindsided by the decision. "The divorce was not my idea. I didn't want it in any shape, form, or fashion," she clarified (via People). Had it been up to her, she would've fought for her marriage to Blackstock, but sometimes things don't work out the way you hoped. "I just want everybody to be happy ... because our lives are too short to be miserable," she said. "I just thought it was the best thing to take my marbles and go play somewhere else, is what daddy used to always say."

Years later, a close friend of McEntire's echoed her statement in an interview with Closer Weekly. Considering how Blackstock was deeply involved in her personal life and career, it's no surprise that the split hit her hard. "She had no idea it was coming," the source added, noting that the singer gave herself a month to process everything before moving on. "Then she snapped out of it."

As for what caused the breakup, McEntire didn't offer much — though she did hint at unresolved issues between her and Blackstock during her 2016 chat with Parade. "There's been a lot between us and I believe that to forgive is easier than forget. I can never forget some of what he did," she stated, without delving into specifics.

Reba McEntire didn't just lose her husband when she called it quits with Narvel Blackstock back in 2015. She also lost her manager and a fortune of a staggering $47.5 million as part of their divorce settlement. Sigh. To make matters even worse, her father had passed away just a year earlier after a long illness following a stroke. He was 86 years old.

"Narvel Blackstock, my manager and husband at the time — we got a divorce," Reba shared in an interview for Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk (via People). "And the shocker of it all was, there were four people who were taking care of all my business." She explained, "I had my production manager who left; I had my CEO who left; my manager and husband; and my father [Clark McEntire] had died. So four men who were rock and pillars of my world were gone."

The loss forced Reba to take full control of her life, including her finances. "I started realizing how much water cost, and the electric bill, and all the things that was going on in my life," she mused. "I made the money, I brought it home. So it was a huge, huge change for me."

Reba McEntire recounted in her book "Reba: My Story" how Narvel Blackstock became her road manager following her split from Charlie Battles. Fresh off the divorce, she wanted to spread her wings and make bold changes to her life, including her music career. "I wanted a new launch from another manager, and the person who I turned to was Narvel." Despite having no prior experience in talent management, Blackstock proved himself right for the job. "He had big ambitions and excellent instincts, the kind of savvy that can't be learned in a classroom," said McEntire. "He is one of the smartest men I have ever met."

She would, however, come to regret this decision as work gradually took over their relationship. Appearing on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in 2024, the "Fancy" hitmaker admitted that her marriage to Blackstock felt more like a business than a romantic partnership. "It was a situation that was always business — whether we were getting ready in the morning, pillow talk, whatever," she recalled, noting that work doesn't stop even during vacations. Perhaps it was the glaring red flag that their marriage would never last, but hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. "I think it works for some people," McEntire then said. "They can be married or have a relationship and work together." But in their case, well, "Our work was all the time."