Reba McEntire reacts to Kelly Clarkson's divorce from her former stepson Brandon Blackstock: 'I love them both'

Reba McEntire isn't taking sides in Kelly Clarkson's divorce against talent manager Brandon Blackstock. McEntire was married to Blackstock's father, Narvel Blackstock, from 1989 to 2015, briefly making her Clarkson's stepmother-in-law.

Clarkson filed for divorce from McEntire's former stepson, with whom she shares two children, in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage. The former couple were married in 2013, two years before McEntire's own split.

Speaking to Extra, the country star offered a diplomatic response when asked if she was giving Clarkson advice amid her marital breakup.

"You know, I love them both," McEntire said. "Brandon’s my stepson, Kelly’s my good friend… I am pulling for both of them. I hope they’re happy and healthy and pull though this. I pray everyone gives them the encouragement they can because they need it right now, both of them do. I love the both of them with all my heart.”

That echoes similar comments made in a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight, in which she said, "I ca't play favorites" over the split.

"I've been a friend of Kelly for a long time," she said. "Brandon's been my son forever, it seems like. Although he's my stepson, I still love him like he's my blood. So I'm praying for them both.

Clarkson and McEntire have collaborated many times, including being co-headliners on 2008's 2 Worlds 2 Voices tour. Clarkson paid tribute to her former in-law at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018, the same year they performed a duet at the Academy of Country Music Awards. And this May, the newly single Clarkson sang a cover of McEntire's "How Blue" on her eponymous talk show.

"I’ve been a fan of Reba since I was a little girl," Clarkson told her viewers. "Her voice has always felt nostalgic for me. Even as an adult, there’s something about her tone and her storytelling that just feels like home.

“Sometimes when we meet our heroes, it doesn’t always pan out how you hope. But meeting Reba — being friends with her, and eventually becoming family — has been one of the highlights of my life, truly,” she continued. “So thank you so much for listening to me vent as an artist. Thank you so much for comforting me on the phone through my tears, like a friend. And thank you for being a really rad grandma for my kids.”

McEntire also addressed her own love life in her interview with Extra, musing on the possibility of one day marrying her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn.

"We’ve talked about it and giggled about it," she shared. "We thought, ‘Man if we ever had a ceremony, we would have to have a 2 o’clock, 4 o’clock, 6 o’clock and an 8 o’clock ‘cause we have so many friends, acquaintances and family.”