The Truth About Blake Shelton's Parents
Blake Shelton, chosen as People's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2017, is one of the most loved singers in country music. The "God Gave Me You" and "Honey Bee" singer moved to Nashville after high school in the late 1990s to become a music writer and has never looked back. He brands himself as "Team Blake," starring as a judge on the reality TV competition series "The Voice" since 2011, per Biography. After nearly a five-year marriage, Shelton sent fans into a whirlwind when he announced his split from longtime love and country music icon Miranda Lambert in 2015. With a heavy heart in their divorce announcement, the pair added it was "not the future" they envisioned. Both singers have since rediscovered romance, as Lambert wed Brendan McLoughlin in January 2019 and Shelton married pop singer Gwen Stefani in 2021.
Throughout his rise to fame, Shelton's family life has remained a top priority, as he's known to be close with his siblings and mom, even working with her to direct a Hallmark movie franchise in recent years. Shelton's been open about how keeping his family close-knit helps him cope with his older brother's death (per Country Fan Cast). Let's take a look at the singer's close relationship with his family and the truth behind his country roots.
Blake Shelton's father outlived his oldest son
Blake Shelton is known to have a soft spot for family, although it hasn't come without heartbreak. His older brother Richie sadly died in a car accident when the singer was just 14 years old, and his father Dick died in January 2012 after a year of declining health.
Amid his father's ill condition, the singer dedicated his winnings at the American Country Awards in November 2011 to him (per Taste of Country), saying, "I love you, Dad, and I dedicate this to you, man. Thank you." At the time, Shelton said he wanted to give a shoutout to his dad because "he's been having a pretty rough couple of weeks, and I know he's watching tonight." Two months later, his dad died after being hospitalized with pneumonia. Shelton gave an update after the news broke, telling fans (via The Boot), "Your support means the world to me. I love you guys."
While Shelton rarely speaks of his father's death, he did make one rare comment after "The Voice" Season 17 frontrunner Marybeth Byrd sang "Go Rest High on That Mountain" (via Country Living). "Man it's just so crazy, I was just talking about that particular song today and what it meant to me through the memory of my dad," Shelton shared. "So I know exactly how you feel trying to get through it. I can't even listen to it sometimes because it's so heartbreaking. Great job, sis."
Inside Blake Shelton's close working relationship with mom Dorothy
However, "The Voice" coach Blake Shelton never stopped expressing his natural artistic abilities after his dad's death in 2012 and promptly started working on his song "Time for Me to Come Home" for his future holiday album "Cheers, It's Christmas." But he didn't do it all on his own. When writing, Shelton admitted he was struggling to find the right lyrics for the second verse. That's when his mom, Dorothy Shackleford, stepped in to help, eventually writing a novel with the same name as the song, known to heavily reflect on festive family memories with her son and his country singing career (per Wide Open Country).
In 2018, based on her published Christmas book and the country icon's single, the "God Gave Me You" singer helped his mom (who used to be a beauty salon owner in Ada, Oklahoma), direct a Hallmark movie titled "Time For Me To Come Home For Christmas." The movie follows a group of five strangers who are invited to Snowfall Inn for Christmas, per The Focus. The mother-son pair have since produced a total of three movies together for the fseries, with the third film, "Time for Us To Come Home For Christmas," released in December 2020. Shackleford and her husband, Mike, still currently live in the country singer's home state of Oklahoma.