Kelly Clarkson's Ex Brandon Blackstock Remembered at Rodeo Memorial Following Cancer Battle

Brandon Blackstock, a former music manager and ex-husband of Kelly Clarkson, was honored last week at a Montana memorial following his death at 48 after a three-year battle with cancer.

Rodeo Legacy

Blackstock's girlfriend, Brittney Jones, said the tribute was held at Valley View Rodeo, the series the two co-founded in 2023. "We sure do miss him," Jones said, noting the rodeo will continue. Their final event of the season is scheduled for August 28, according to Radar Online.

She said Blackstock had a gift for building strong crews and that the team plans to carry on with the series for the "foreseeable future."

An obituary released after his death on August 7 described how Blackstock left the music industry to pursue ranching and rodeo life in Montana. "After more than 20 years in the music business, Brandon found his way back to the mountains and the cowboy way of life he always wanted to live," it read. "He found a homestead and a love in Butte, Montana."

It added that he and Jones had been "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."

From Hollywood to Montana

Jones was first connected to Clarkson's camp, working as a production assistant on the singer's tours from 2016 to 2018, before becoming Blackstock's executive assistant at Starstruck Management. Her LinkedIn says she also worked on Clarkson's daytime talk show before leaving Los Angeles in 2020. That summer, she joined Blackstock at his V Bar B Cattle Co. ranch in Montana, embracing ranch work and rodeo life.

Clarkson filed for divorce the same month after nearly seven years of marriage. The pair share two children, River Rose, 11, and Remington, 9. Their divorce included a dispute over a Montana ranch Clarkson purchased for $10.4 million in 2019. Blackstock later bought a home in Butte, Montana, but retained a small ownership stake in the ranch under the 2022 settlement.

Remembered as Family

Blackstock's family ties stretched beyond his children and former marriage. Jones' father wrote in a Facebook tribute that he considered Blackstock his own. "Yesterday we lost a good man, Brandon Blackstock, my daughter's soulmate, and I considered him my son," he wrote. "We're sure going to miss your funny humor. R.I.P hoss!"

Blackstock also kept close connections with his former stepmother, country star Reba McEntire, attending her Houston Rodeo performance earlier this year.

As Jones prepares to continue the rodeo series without him, she said the team remains dedicated to preserving his vision. "The rodeo is going to remain," she said.

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Kelly Clarkson, Brandon Blackstock