Brandon Blackstock, the ex-husband of pop singer Kelly Clarkson, has died at the age of 48 following a battle with cancer.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” a rep for Blackstock’s family told People in a statement. “Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
The news comes following Clarkson abruptly postponing her Las Vegas residency. The “American Idol” winner said she had to cancel to be with her children, River, 11, and Remington, 9, but did not go into detail about Blackstock’s condition.
“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,” she shared with fans on August 6. She went on to thank her followers for their “grace, kindness and understanding.”
Blackstock first met Clarkson at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2006. He was married to his ex-wife Melissa Ashworth at the time, but the pop singer said she immediately felt a spark.
The pair met up again years later and wed in October 2013. Blackstock went on to become Clarkson’s manager, and they welcomed two children together. The music exec also has two other children and had recently become a grandfather in 2022, the outlet noted.
Clarkson said she agreed to take on Blackstock as her manager after seeing how he handled Blake Shelton’s career. She had previously been represented by Brandon’s father, Narvel Blackstock, who was married to Reba McEntire for several years.
“I wouldn’t have hired Brandon to be my manager if I didn’t see first-hand how great he is at that and how much he cares about Blake,” she told Marie Claire in 2018. “And the way that [Blake’s] career has blown up, I would have hired Brandon regardless. He’s really talented at what he does and his mind really does work in a completely different way.”
Clarkson and Blackstock finalized their divorce in 2022.
“I think the thing about divorce — especially having it publicized, and people thinking they know the whole thing — the hardest part of that is, like, it wasn’t an overnight decision,” Clarkson said during a 2023 appearance on the “Angie Martinez IRL” podcast. “I wanted to make it beautiful. I wanted to make it awesome. I wanted to make it everything it possibly could be, and sometimes that just doesn’t happen.”
