What to Know
This year has been a difficult one for Reba McEntire and her ex-husband Narvel Blackstock’s family. Four months after Narvel’s son, Brandon Blackstock, died following a quiet battle with cancer, they’re experiencing another difficult loss.
As the couple revealed in a heartbreaking social media post, Reba’s son, Shelby Blackstock, and his wife, Marissa, have suffered a miscarriage.
Marissa shared the sad news in an Instagram post.
Sharing a photo of a bouquet of white flowers, Marissa shared that she and Shelby lost the baby they found out they were expecting only weeks ago.
“I’ve carried more loss this year than I ever imagined I could. First my brother-in-law, then my dad… and now our little boy,” she wrote. “Grief has a way of reshaping your world, and I’ve learned that to survive it, you have to search for even the faintest glimmer of meaning — the small silver thread that helps your heart keep going.”
She mentioned how much “grief” she’s experienced this year.
Her positive pregnancy test came on Thanksgiving, the day after Marissa’s father died, three years after she and Shelby first began trying to conceive.
“Though he began to slip away in the days that followed, and today confirmed what we already knew… he still gave us something precious,” she continued. “He showed me that my body can do this. That hope isn’t gone.”
Marissa went on to say that she’s “not ready to set this dream” of becoming a mother down just yet.
“And even in the weight of this season, I’m grateful for the light he brought with him; however brief, however delicate,” she concluded.
Reba seems to be close with Marissa.
Reba and Shelby — who is the country legend’s only biological child — seem to be as close as ever, and Marissa is included in that. More than once, she’s shared posts about her mother-in-law, including from her visits to Reba’s show, Happy’s Place.
In 2022, Marissa shared a sweet message for Reba on her birthday, writing, “Happy Birthday to my kind, beautiful, strong, brilliant, supportive, and genuinely fabulous Mother-in-law @reba!”
Experiencing a miscarriage is something that no hopeful mom should have to go through. We’ll be thinking of Marissa and Shelby during what must be a truly tough time, especially after everything else they’ve been through in the past few months.
