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.

Brandon Blackstock, the late husband of Kelly Clarkson who died this week after a battle with cancer, appeared to enjoy time with his family -- including former stepmother Reba McEntire -- in the months before his death.

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.