This Country Superstar Endured A ‘Cruel’ Childhood With Her Father Before Her Heartbreaking Divorce And Finding Love Again

Dec 08, 2023 by apost team

Reba McEntire is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has been called the "Queen of Country Music" and has sold over 75 million records around the world. With more than 100 singles making it to the Billboard Country Charts, McEntire has solidified herself as a household name. She first started recording songs in the late 1970s but hit her stride in the early 1980s. From 2001 to 2007, McEntire starred in her own sitcom called "Reba," and launched herself to even higher success. 

The singer's first number-one song was "Can't Even Get the Blues" in 1982. Then in 1984, McEntire signed with MCA Records, and her second studio album, "My Kind of Country," became her breakthrough release. Her best-selling album came after losing eight of her band members in a plane crash in 1991. The album is called "For My Broken Heart," and it garnered critical acclaim. One of her signature songs came from her 1990 release "Rumor Has It." 

In her personal life, McEntire has been married twice. Her first marriage was from 1976 to 1987 to a rancher named Charlie Battles. They lived together on a ranch in Oklahoma, where McEntire is from. After ending the marriage, the singer moved to Nashville to further her career in music. In 1989, McEntire married her manager Narvel Blackstock. She became a stepmother to his three children, and together they had a son. The couple divorced in 2015, and since then, McEntire has stayed close to her stepchildren and considers their kids to be her grandchildren.

McEntire’s life has been full of challenges and obstacles. For instance, she had to endure a grueling childhood at the hands of her father before experiencing a heartbreaking divorce from Narvel. Read on to learn more about McEntire and her obstacles in life. 

Before McEntire became the venerated artist that she is today, she endured a rather challenging childhood with his father. 

In an interview with The Washington Post, her older sister, Alice Foran, revealed to the publication that growing up, her sister had to fight for attention from their father. Their father, Clark McEntire was a renowned cowboy. 

“He liked being known as a champion cowboy,” Foran explained. “You didn’t have to worry about what was on his mind. He would tell you in a heartbeat. By our standards, they would say he was cruel.”

Thankfully, she had her mother as her ultimate cheerleader. In an interview with Today in 2023, McEntire talked about her late mother, Jacqueline McEntire. 

Reba revealed that it was her mother’s wish to become a singer that she never had the chance to achieve.

“She said, ‘Reba, I will be living my dreams through you.’ So golly, why wouldn’t you want to go sing?” she said.

The singer also opened up that Jacqueline was the biggest supporter of her and her siblings back when they were still in a group.

“Mama was the one that inspired us kids, taught us kids how to sing, took us to our singing gigs and was our biggest cheerleader,” she says.

From then on, McEntire went on to become a successful singer and artist. In 1976, she married Charlie Battles. However, they divorced in 1987, and she decided to pursue her career in music further. She then met Blackstock and tied the knot in 1989. She immediately had three stepchildren – Chassidy, Shawna, and Brandon – and their own son, Shelby Steven McEntire-Blackstock, in 1990. 

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When McEntire and Blackstock divorced in 2015, they released a statement via a spokesperson that said: "Despite this being the end of their marriage, they continue to support each other. They have worked together for 35 years and will continue to do so. They have asked that you respect their privacy during this time."

The singer opened up in 2021 about how challenging that time of her life was. She said:

"Things started going south with my marriage. Narvel Blackstock, my manager and husband at the time — we got a divorce, and the shocker of it all was, there were four people who were taking care of all my business. I had my production manager who left, I had my CEO who left, my manager and husband, and my father had died. So four men who were rock and pillars of my world were gone."

Not only was the divorce emotionally devastating, but McEntire also had to learn how to take control of her life for the first time. 

"I started taking over signing the checks and then I started realizing how much water cost, and the electric bill, and all the things that was going on in my life. I made the money, I brought it home. So it was a huge, huge change for me," she shared.

Now that she has moved on from that difficult time in her life, McEntire has gained some perspective on the situation. She advised, "If someone walked up to me and said, 'Reba, I'm going through a situation like you did — what's your advice?' I would say, 'Go home, regroup, and listen to see what you're supposed to do next.' Rally friends around you, good positive friends that have your best interests at heart — which I did — and you will survive.

In 2020, McEntire began dating actor Rex Linn, and they have developed a beautiful relationship. The happy couple has even started talking about the possibility of marriage. "We've talked about it and giggled about it," McEntire said. "We thought, 'Man if we ever did have a ceremony, we would have to have a 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 6 o'clock and an 8 o'clock' because we have so many friends, acquaintances and family."

Linn and McEntire share many common interests and seem like a match made in heaven. The singer shared, "Well, we do know about the music business and the movie entertainment business. He loves to work, I love to work. We were both wannabe cowboys, cowgirls, and then got into the entertainment business. We have a lot of similar loves and passions. We just get along so well. I'm just very grateful."

In 2021, McEntire announced that she would be going on tour and would release a box set of her greatest hits. She is excited about the possibility of gaining new fans, especially from a younger generation. McEntire said: 

"My fans are so loyal and have been with me forever. To be able to do the songs that they have listened to for years, I think they'll get a big kick out of it… Just to help conjure up the great times and good memories… There's (also) going to be people listening today that weren't even born (when I cut some of these songs). A lot of people listening today are going to be saying, 'Well, that's what mom or grandma were talking about. I like it too.' That'd be wonderful. I'd love that."

Are you a fan of Reba McEntire? What is your favorite song of hers? Let us know, and feel free to pass this along to your friends and family.