Kelly Clarkson hit by unimaginable double tragedy after ex-husband Brandon Blackstock’s shock cancer death: Fears as star ‘feels lost’

Kelly Clarkson is ‘feeling lost’ as she grieves the death of her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock and attempts to counsel their two young children.

The passing of 48-year-old Blackstock – a talent manager and the former stepson of country superstar Reba McEntire – following a three-year battle with cancer, was announced on Thursday by his devastated family.

A source exclusively tells the Daily Mail that the loss of Blackstock – who was married to Clarkson from 2013 to 2022 – will ‘stick with the singer forever’ as she now has to parent their children River, 11, and Remington, nine, alone.

‘Kelly’s life has flipped upside down with Brandon’s cancer struggles and now death,’ the insider said.

‘She’s been blessed with an incredible career and life, but once her marriage ended and once Brandon’s health started dwindling, it has been very rough. 

‘She has always been a mother, but now she is in full “mom mode”. For her kids to go through this is just absolutely devastating.’

Indeed, the insider added that Clarkson is now facing the double tragedy of dealing with her own grief, as well as helping her children through this time.

‘She feels both a little lost and feels like she has to do everything to make it all make sense. This is going to stick with her forever, it will be a long time for her to get back to the jovial Kelly we all know and love,’ the source said.

Earlier this year, Clarkson was mysteriously absent from her popular talk show for multiple weeks, missing 10 episodes in total.

A show source has revealed to the Daily Mail that her co-workers, who were initially confused by her absence, are now rallying behind her in her time of need.

The insider said: ‘Everyone loves Kelly. We’ve got her back. We’ll pick up the slack, we’ll do whatever she needs.

‘Everyone at The Kelly Clarkson Show will wish her the absolute best. She never ever said a bad word about her ex, ever. 

‘So even though they’re not together, I think this will affect her deeply. Kelly is an empath; she cries with people over their sadness. So this has got to be tearing her up.’

The news of Blackstock’s death came hours after Clarkson announced she was postponing the remaining dates on her Las Vegas residency this August due to her ex-husband falling ‘ill’.

At the time she didn’t give any more details, simply writing: ‘Unfortunately, I need to postpone the remainder of the August Studio Session dates in Las Vegas. 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.’

But hours later, a representative for the family said in a statement on Thurday: ‘It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away. Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family.’

It is not known what type of cancer Blackstock battled. 

Clarkson’s relationship with Blackstock began in 2012, and the two tied the knot the following year.

They had both a romantic and professional relationship at first, with her husband also serving as her manager. 

However, Clarkson filed for divorce in June 2020 on grounds of irreconcilable differences, and the two were subsequently engaged in years of legal wrangling related to their finances.

Their messy divorce was reported to have been finalized in March of 2022, but it wasn’t until a year later that Clarkson won a $2.6 million judgment against Blackstock.

Clarkson had claimed he owed her millions in commissions that he should not have been able to collect for deals that he set up that should have been handled by a talent agent, rather than her manager, and the California Labor Commissioner ultimately agreed.

It ruled that Blackstock had overstepped by working around Clarkson’s talent agents at Creative Artists Agency.

In May 2024, the warring exes finally reached a settlement. 

The hitmaker had previously won the $2.6 million judgement for deals Blackstock had secured for her going back to 2017, but she also claimed he had been taking the place of her talent agents while serving as her manager going back as far as 2007, and she had duly requested a more thorough accounting of commissions paid to her ex-husband.

The details of the agreement were not publicly disclosed.

In 2022, the singer had agreed to pay her ex-husband a $1.3 million lump sum as part of their divorce settlement. 

They also agreed that Clarkson would pay Blackstock $45,601 per month in child support payments.

Blackstock also had two children from a previous marriage, Savannah and Seth, and a grandson, Lake. 

He was last pictured in March, looking frail as he joined River and Remington at the Houston Rodeo with his brother Shelby and McEntire.

Blackstock’s father, film producer Narvel Blackstock, was married to McEntire from 1989-2015 and they share Shelby, 35.