Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock's 2015 split was not only the end of a 26-year marriage - it was also the disillusionment of a business empire. The former couple got together in the mid 1980s while Blackstock was working as McEntire's tour manager. (The "Fancy" singer became a stepmother to her husband's three children - Chassidy, Shawna, and Brandon - once they tied the knot in 1989.) Blackstock soon took over management of McEntire's career entirely through his company Starstruck Entertainment, as she built a legacy as one of country music's biggest stars. By the time Blackstock and McEntire announced their separation in 2015, their lives were completely intertwined, personally and professionally. According to multiple media outlets, Blackstock walked away with a $47.5 million divorce settlement, while McEntire took control of the management of her career. "[My marriage] was a situation that was always business," McEntire admitted on The Drew Barrymore Show in March 2024. Looking Back on Brandon Blackstock's Bond With Former Stepmom Reba McEntire Keep scrolling for the complete timeline of McEntire and Blackstock's marriage. 1989 McEntire and Blackstock got married in a private Lake Tahoe ceremony. (McEntire was previously married to steer wrestling champion and rancher Charlie Battles from 1976 to 1987.) Blackstock started out as a steel guitar player in McEntire's band before becoming her tour manager. Once the couple tied the knot, Blackstock took over management of his wife's career with the creation of Starstruck Entertainment. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the time, McEntire addressed concerns about Blackstock taking on such a crucial role in her professional life. Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock in March 1992. Ron Davis/Getty Images "I love him and I trust him very much ... Narvel helps me an awful lot because he is the one who's out there, who responds, who tells me what works, what doesn't work, what looks good," she said in 1989. "I've got to have that from somebody I trust and I do trust Narvel, explicitly. That's why I married him." 1990 Reba gave birth to her son, Shelby, in February 1990. She acknowledged in 2022 that she'd had "a lot of help" raising her son. "I had the best nannies, and I took him on the road with me," McEntire told People. "When I couldn't, I would fly home after a concert, get him up in the morning, take him to school and pick him up. We'd play until I had to fly out again for a concert that night. I wanted to be with Shelby. Still do." While her quality time with Shelby was occasionally limited by her career commitments, Reba tried to convey the importance of remaining humble. "When we would play games or cards, I'd never let Shelby win," she recalled. "He wouldn't have learned anything that way. I always told Shelby, 'I'll always love you, but I want other people to like you. So don't be a little jerk. Don't be a spoiled brat.'" Shelby Blackstock and Reba McEntire in November 2016. John Shearer/WireImage Shelby grew up to become a race car driver for top motorsports brands such as Ford, Andretti Autosport and Honda. "I'm very proud of him. He's always trying to improve and do better. His daddy did a great job too," Reba told People in 2022. "Shelby is a gift from God to me. We're very close. I was a very self-centered person to a degree before Shelby. But then there's a little character who you are given the job to protect and nurture and love and teach, so all the attention's not on you anymore." 1991 Eight members of Reba's band and two pilots were killed when a private plane crashed in San Diego following a private concert. She looked back on the tragedy during a 2012 appearance on the OWN series Master Class. "Narvel came back to the hotel room where I was - it was 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning - and he said one of the planes had crashed," Reba remembered. "I said, 'Are they OK?' He said, 'I don't think so.' I said, 'But you're not sure?' He said, 'I don't think so.' So in my mind, any minute now, we're going to get a call that they're all right, but the call never came. So the rest of the night, Narvel was going room to room with the phone, and calling." Reba McEntire Praises Kelly Clarkson's 'Beautiful' Cover of Her Song Reba credited the country music community for rallying around her and Narvel when they eventually learned that their bandmates were lost in the crash. "There was a huge outpour of friends in the community, family that were there for us," Reba recalled. "But nobody can replace the ones that we loved so much that we lost. And that's one of the questions I'll ask God when I get up there. 'Why'd you take them so quick? They had so much more to give, and we had so much more to learn from them.' But we learn from that situation, and the biggest thing I learned: don't go a day without telling people you love them. And do act like this day could be your last one, so do what you want to do." 2008 Reba offered rare insight on her personal and