Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband Brandon Blackstock is reported to have been in a relationship with their former assistant at the time of his death.
The 48-year-old music manager, who was married to the chart-topping Clarkson from 2013 to 2020, died on August 7 after a private battle with melanoma.
A newly released obituary has now described Brittney Marie Jones as ‘his beautiful and loving partner in life and business’.
‘Brandon, along with his beautiful and loving partner in life and business, Brittney Marie Jones, started building a life, building companies, and working tirelessly to create Headwaters Livestock Auction and what will live on as his legacy, The Valley View Rodeo in Bozeman, Montana,’ the tribute published on buttefuneralhome.com read in part.
According to The US Sun, Brittney’s LinkedIn profile revealed she was previously an executive assistant to Blackstock until June 2020, the year Clarkson filed for divorce.
She was also an assistant to former American Idol winner Clarkson for two years prior to that while Blackstock managed the singer.
Blackstock and Jones had established their rodeo together in Montana in December after Blackstock chose the state as his full-time home, opting to go ‘under the radar’ following his career in showbusiness and after his and Clarkson’s contentious divorce was finalised in 2022.
The obituary also revealed Brandon died ‘peacefully’ at home, surrounded by his family.
Blackstock – who shared daughter River, 11, and son Remington, nine, with Clarkson, and pregnant daughter Savannah, 23 and son Seth, 18, with first wife Melissa Ashworth – was also remembered as a loving father and grandfather.
News of his death was revealed publicly just a day after the Stronger singer announced the postponement of the rest of her August Las Vegas residency dates in order to look after their children, saying that her ex-husband had been ‘ill’.
A source told Us Weekly that he spent ‘more [time] than ever before’ with his family while undergoing treatment during the last six months of his life at home in Montana.
Clarkson was not caring for Blackstock, they said, but she made sure their children were with their father as much as possible.
‘She did spend a lot of time travelling with her kids to be with him,’ the insider shared.
‘He loved having his family with him and loved when the kids would visit,’ the source said. ‘He loved his animals and that was a passion he shared with his daughter Savannah.’
‘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,’ Clarkson had written on social media when announcing the cancelled gig dates this month. ‘I appreciate your grace, kindness, and understanding.’
Clarkson is yet to comment publicly on the death of her former husband, but it’s believed she is ‘devastated’, especially for her children.
‘When she found out that he was sick, she remained protective of him for their sake,’ a source told People.
Blackstock, who once managed country star Blake Shelton, was also the former stepson of actress and singer Reba McEntire, who was married to his father Narvel Blackstock from 1989 to 2015.
She shared her grief in a comment on her son Shelby Blackstock’s Instagram post earlier this week, breaking her silence.
Shelby – Blackstock’s half-brother – had shared a collection of family snaps over the years featuring his late sibling, calling him ‘irreplaceable’ and adding: ‘Words cannot begin to capture the tremendous loss our family has endured.’
He continued: ‘For every treasured moment we shared, there are so many more we’ll never get to make together, but I know you’ll still be there. Every hunt, every flight, and in the everyday moments of life, I’ll feel your presence. And although it may annoy you, you’ll have to watch me do it all just a little better, a little smoother, and – let’s be honest – looking far more handsome than you ever could in the process.
‘We will always miss you, Brandon, and we will never stop loving, remembering and celebrating you.’
Reba, 70, commented underneath: ‘Very well said Shelby. Yes we will miss him so much.’
She also added a number of heart and broken heart emojis.
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