Sometimes, the hardest part of loss is watching children carry the weight of it.

Reba McEntire walked the red carpet at the 2025 Emmy Awards with a smile, announcing her engagement to longtime partner Rex Linn, but when asked about her late stepson, Brandon Blackstock, the Queen of Country’s tone shifted. It was only weeks earlier, on August 7, that Blackstock had passed away after a three-year private battle with cancer. Reba did not sugarcoat it and simply said, “We miss him, we miss him every minute.”

She then shared what so many wanted to know, which was how Blackstock’s four children were holding up. Brandon left behind Savannah, 23, and Seth, 18, from his first marriage to Melissa Ashworth, as well as River Rose, 11, and Remington, 9, from his marriage to Kelly Clarkson. Reba explained, “The kids are doing well. They’re all bonding together, hanging out, and taking it one day at a time. We know God’s got this.” It was a statement of faith and grit, and it served as a reminder that even in tragedy, family can lean on one another and find a way forward.

Brandon’s story had always been tied to family. His obituary described him as a devoted father and said his children were his greatest love and legacy. “To say he was devoted seems cliché, but it is the correct word,” the remembrance read. And while his career as a music manager made headlines through his marriage to Kelly Clarkson, those closest to him remembered him first and foremost as “Pa” to his kids and grandkids.

Clarkson, who divorced Blackstock in 2022, canceled her Las Vegas residency just before the news of his passing went public. “While I normally keep my personal life private, this past year my children’s father has been ill, and at this moment, I need to be fully present for them,” she wrote in a heartfelt statement. A source close to her later revealed she was “absolutely heartbroken” but determined to stay strong for River and Remy because they remain her entire world.

Reba, who became stepmother to Brandon when she married his father Narvel Blackstock back in 1989, remained close to him even after her divorce in 2015. Her tribute after his passing was raw and direct: “Last week, my stepson/oldest son Brandon Blackstock went home to be with God. His struggle is over, and he is in eternal peace in God’s presence. There is no one else like him, and I’m thankful for the time we had together. Rest in peace, cowboy. Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.”

Even in the middle of her own joy with Linn’s proposal, Reba carried Brandon’s memory on the Emmy red carpet. That mix of celebration and mourning showed the same duality fans have always loved her for, which is someone who can belt out a song with fire one moment and speak with raw honesty about loss the next.

Later that night, she stepped onstage with Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman to sing “Thank You for Being a Friend” in honor of The Golden Girls’ 40th anniversary. It was a performance wrapped in nostalgia, yet for Reba, it also felt like a message about the power of connection and the people who hold you up in dark times.

For the Blackstock children, the road ahead is steep. But with their mother, extended family, and even Reba herself surrounding them with faith and love, they are taking the grief one step at a time. Brandon’s absence will never stop being felt, but his presence lives on in the kids he adored and the legacy of love he left behind.