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.

Reba McEntire Loved Brandon Blackstock Like a 'Son' originally appeared on Parade. Reba McEntire often spoke about the deep bond she shared with her former stepson, Brandon Blackstock, in the years before his death from cancer at 48.

Narvel Blackstock, who is married to his third wife, Laura Stroud, is now mourning the loss of his eldest son, Brandon Blackstock, from his first marriage to Elisa Gayle Ritter.