Brandon Blackstock’s obituary didn’t just leave Kelly Clarkson out, it painted a whole new picture of his life after their split.
When the former music manager passed away on August 7 at just 48 years old after a three-year battle with melanoma, the tribute to his life was filled with stories about his cowboy lifestyle, his children, and the people closest to him in his final years. Kelly Clarkson, his ex-wife of seven years and the mother of two of his children, wasn’t mentioned once. Instead, the obituary revealed something that had never been publicly confirmed before, his post-divorce partner, Brittney Marie Jones, was front and center.
According to the obituary, Jones wasn’t just his romantic partner. She was his “beautiful and loving partner in life and business.” The two reportedly built a life together in Montana, running Headwaters Livestock Auction and creating what’s described as Blackstock’s legacy, the Valley View Rodeo in Bozeman.
For fans who remember the messy Clarkson-Blackstock divorce, the omission was striking. Clarkson filed for divorce in June 2020, sparking a bitter legal battle over property, child custody, and finances. The fight over their Montana ranch became one of the divorce’s biggest sticking points. In the end, Clarkson was awarded the property but agreed to give Blackstock a 5% stake. Later, she sued him, claiming he acted as her manager without proper licensing and overcharged her on business deals. That lawsuit ended in 2023, with Blackstock ordered to pay her $2.6 million.
While Clarkson never went public with much about his personal life after the split, Jones’ name had floated around quietly for a while. Records show she once worked as Clarkson’s production assistant from 2016 to 2018, then moved into an executive assistant role for Blackstock in 2018 while still managing Clarkson’s schedule. By 2020, the same month Clarkson filed for divorce, Jones was working for Blackstock’s cattle company in Montana.
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The obituary’s tone made it clear how important Jones became in Blackstock’s post-Hollywood chapter. It described him as a cowboy at heart, a man who traded music industry boardrooms for wide-open skies, Wrangler jeans, and hard days of ranch work. It talked about his love for hunting, fishing, and rodeo life, as well as his devotion to his four children (Savannah, Seth, River, and Remy) and his joy at becoming “Pa” to his grandchildren.
Meanwhile, Clarkson’s name was nowhere to be found, a decision that might raise eyebrows but probably won’t shock those familiar with how bad things got between them. Publicly, Clarkson has stayed silent since his passing, though the day before his death, she postponed her Las Vegas residency shows, saying she needed to be “fully present” for their kids because their father was ill.
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A source close to Clarkson told PEOPLE she’s “heartbroken” for their children but staying strong for their sake. “Kelly and Brandon had their ups and downs, but at the end of the day, he was the father of her children,” the source said.
For those who knew Brandon Blackstock in the music industry, the obituary was a final farewell to a man who could open doors for others, cut deals in Nashville, and then turn around and run a rodeo in Montana. For his family, it was a tribute to the cowboy they loved. For the rest of us, it was a reminder that life after divorce can take paths no one saw coming, and sometimes, even in death, certain chapters stay closed.
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