Grammy-winning country music legend Reba McEntire didn't become industry royalty without some
serious sacrifice and heartache.
She may appear to have it all, but behind that megawatt smile, lie her share of hardships.
These are the details on her tragic real life story.
Growing up in Oklahoma, McEntire was the third born of four children.
"Oklahoma's a great place to grow up.
It was a family community, and you didn't get away with much."
As a middle child, she told The Washington Post she constantly had to quote "fight for
attention," that is, until at the age of 5, when she realized she could sing.
Her mother remembered,
"'Away in a Manger' was what she sang the first time."
McEntire said she and her siblings began singing just for fun, but things got serious for the
college co-ed when she was discovered while singing the national anthem at the Las Vegas
National Finals Rodeo.
"Eleven months later, I had a Polygram-Mercury Records contract."
But an old problem quickly began to resurface: lack of attention.
According to the Post, McEntire's music flew under the radar for years.
Her first Number 1 hit, "Can't Even Get the Blues," was reportedly released a whopping
seven years after she signed her contract.
In 1975, before things really took off, McEntire met the man who would become her first husband:
Charlie Battles.
According to The Washington Post, he had been a "world-champion steer wrestler" who was
a decade older, with a wife and two kids.
Battles divorced his wife, and McEntire married him when she was 21.
She told the Post,
"My singing was always taken very lightly until Charlie came along."
Battles signed on as Reba's manager, but that dynamic changed in the '80s as McEntire's
career began to skyrocket.
After winning her first Grammy in 1986, she was ready to take the country world by storm,
but her husband reportedly wanted her to slow things down.
She told E! News,
"I guess I chose my career over my marriage."
After filing for divorce in '87, McEntire rebounded with Narvel Blackstock, a guitarist
in her band.
"Big change of events in my personal life, but it also catapulted my career."
They tied the knot in 1988, but instead of receiving well wishes and support, McEntire
was heavily criticized.
She told People magazine,
"I have talked so much about my private life [in the past] that when I got this divorce,
I got lambasted.
My fans didn't understand."
"I do trust Narvel explicitly.
That's why I married him.
I love him and I trust him very much."
According to the outlet, fans weren't on board with a wholesome country star who had real
troubles at home.
McEntire and Blackstock were together nearly three decades before their divorce in 2015.
"26 years of marriage.
Do you miss anything about it?
Oh sure.
I miss everything about it."
In 1991, McEntire had wrapped up a show in San Diego, when she and her band and crew
members booked two chartered flights.
But, tragically, one of the planes wouldn't make it to its destination.
"The tip of the wing of the airplane hit a rock on the side of Otay Mountain.
And it killed everyone on the plane."
According to the Associated Press, all ten people on board were killed in the crash,
including seven members of McEntire's band and her road manager.
A spokesperson for the singer said in a statement:
″Needless to say Reba is very upset.
They all had been with her a long time.
They were like family.
She's lost eight family members.″
"Nobody can replace the ones that we love so much that we lost.
And that's one of the questions I'll ask God when I get up there."
Less than a month later, McEntire put on a brave face and headed back out on the road.
She later told The Washington Post,
"I can't stop working when something like that happens.
I needed it.
We all needed it, to keep going, or I would have wallowed in sorrow."
"It's been 20 years and it's just like, I don't guess it ever quits hurtin'."
When a performer conquers one music genre, it's not unheard of to branch out into different
markets.
Justin Bieber and Beyoncé have both successfully tried their hands at singing in Spanish, and
McEntire herself decided to expand her discography by venturing into the pop and blues sectors.
Sadly, some of her followers haven't supported her pursuits.
After performing renditions of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and Etta James' "Sunday Kind of
Love," McEntire told People magazine her fans weren't happy, revealing,
"They said I was leaving my roots.
Lord knows, I'm country!
Given who I am and where I come from, no matter what I do, it will be country."
McEntire thought it was ridiculous, and even offensive, for people to think she was leaving
her fan base behind.
She said,
"I don't sing country songs, I don't sing pop, I sing Reba songs."
"I guess the three bones you gotta have: the wishbone, the funny bone, and a back bone."
McEntire and fellow musician Kelly Clarkson have shared an unbreakable bond ever since
Clarkson won American Idol in 2002.
Their friendship came full circle when Clarkson announced on Twitter in 2012 that she was
engaged to McEntire's stepson, Brandon Blackstock.
McEntire was thrilled, but the claws came out.
The country star told Entertainment Tonight,
"I was very protective of Kelly.
I did not want her to get her heart broken because she wears her heart on her sleeve…What
you see is what you get with Kelly…I would have clobbered Brandon if he had hurt her
in any way."
"I know we're friends and we're family, but you're always, like, that hero to me, like…"
"Aww!"
"...especially musically like you're just a beast."
Clarkson and Blackstock tied the knot in October 2013, but McEntire's difficult divorce from
Narvel made her friendship with Clarkson trickier than ever.
Even so, the country superstar didn't want her family to have to choose sides.
A friend told Closer Weekly,
"[Reba] didn't want to tear the family apart, so she leaned on others who weren't family
[for support]."
Even though she has endured devastating tragedy and sorrow, it's clear that Reba McEntire
can take what comes her way, with grace and grit, and keep on truckin.
"I've been happy poor, and I've been happy rich.
I just like to keep that part consistent."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.