Reba McEntire Lost More Than A Husband During Her Narvel Blackstock Split
Reba McEntire may have crooned, "I'm a Survivor," but she didn't experience the struggles of being a single, yet strong, woman until the country star's divorce from husband Narvel Blackstock 14 years after the song's release. McEntire and Blackstock were married in 1989 after meeting courtesy of their jobs in the music industry. He's a manager and producer while she's better known for taking the stage, belting out hits like "Can't Even Get the Blues," which helped her rise to fame in the early '80s. However, the talents of the multi-hyphenate go well beyond singing.
McEntire amassed significant wealth with her lucrative side hustles, including a horse farm, a talent agency and management firm, a jet chartering business, and even a construction company. Not to mention the singer-songwriter's smaller ventures, like her Oklahoma restaurant Reba's Place. As you can imagine, the "queen of country" has quite the net worth — an estimated $95 million per Celebrity Net Worth. She also has a business portfolio that would require a whole team to manage, as McEntire found out when she and Blackstock split after over two decades.
As she confessed on Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk, "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," (via People). When things went south, McEntire was left with a huge void in terms of support and finances.
It was a trying time for the country icon
A divorce is usually tumultuous, even if the split is amicable, which it reportedly was between Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock. But while most individuals expect to lose their partner and maybe even some of their assets, when the marriage involves celebrities, those losses are often much more impactful. Hello! magazine confirmed that Blackstock was ultimately awarded $47.5 million, but he was more than McEntire's partner in life; he was her business manager, too.
The divorce meant that McEntire was now responsible for many aspects of her finances and businesses that she previously didn't have to worry about. Something that was out of sight, out of mind for the past 26 years of their marriage. Following the couple's 2015 separation, she explained, "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," per People.
The country star isn't afraid to acknowledge that she struggled during this time, admitting, "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 were going on in my life." It was especially trying because Blackstock initiated the divorce, and McEntire wasn't on board with it. Nevertheless, the Grammy winner rallied and credited her family, friends, and faith with seeing her through.
McEntire has since found love elsewhere
Fortunately, Reba McEntire has since moved on from her tumultuous divorce from her second husband, Narvel Blackstock. The singer-songwriter has found her footing with her businesses while her substantial net worth hasn't dipped considerably either. It's safe to say that her heart has recovered too. McEntire initially entered into a relationship with Anthony "Skeeter" Lasuzzo around 2017, which lasted for two years. Following their 2019 breakup, she struck up a romance with Rex Linn, whom McEntire actually met decades earlier.
Speaking to People in 2023, the country icon gushed, "He's a very supportive man, I love him with all my heart." The "Does He Love You" singer isn't writing off getting married again, although it would be her third and Linn's first. In an interview on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," McEntire explained that the ball is in his court, but it doesn't sound like she would be upset if an engagement was in her future.
After all, she and the actor have similar backgrounds, careers, and interests. McEntire was quick to note to Taste of Country that they're just enjoying themselves for the time being, while Linn doesn't feel the need to put labels on their relationship. Evidently, it appears like she's much more confident in herself as a single woman since the divorce and can go on living her life successfully and happily with or without a husband.