Reba McEntire made a name for herself as an iconic country star, devoting much of her life to her craft.

Later on, she realized she wanted to have children and start a family. She did all she could to achieve this dream.

God blessed her with six beautiful children whom she raised to be their own unique selves.

Reba McEntire was in the country music industry since she was 5. By the time she was in Junior High School, she and her siblings formed a band called “The Singing McEntires.”

Aside from being a singer, she was also an equestrian. She got her passion for riding from her father, who was a rodeo champion in competitive barrel racing.

Reba McEntire onstage during the Country Music Television’s CMT Giants honoring Reba McEntire at the Kodak Theatre on October 26, 2006 in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

In 1974, she sang the United States National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma, when she caught the attention of songwriter Red Steagall. It was Steagall who suggested she join the industry, and she did.

Since then, she’s had five platinum albums, seven gold albums, and two Grammy wins, with a total of 16 nominations. She also ventured into television, hosting on “Good Morning America” and acting on “Buffalo Girls” in 1995.

Reba McEntire on “TODAY” on April 17, 2023 | Source: Getty Images

McEntire was named after her maternal grandmother, Reba Smith. It was her grandmother who taught her the importance of faith and loving Jesus. “That’s the most important thing she could ever taught [sic] me,” the singer once admitted.

Throughout her stellar career, McEntire was a doting mother to her six children. She has five stepchildren from her two marriages and one biological son named Shelby.

When McEntire discovered she was pregnant, she was sitting on the edge of her bathtub at home. She waited for the pregnancy test to turn bright pink, and it did!

Despite her excitement, she waited to check if everything was good before she announced it to anybody else. She was 34 then and more than ready to become a mom.

Reba McEntire and her young son Shelby relax on a porch swing circa 1994. | Source: Getty Images

Long before she got pregnant with her son, she had already been praying for him. Revealing one of her prayers, she said:

“I asked the Lord for a healthy, happy, fun, and compassionate child. That’s what I got. I don’t want to be selfish and greedy after all He’s given me.”

Reba McEntire with husband Narville Blackstock and son Shelby at the 28th annual People’s Choice Awards on January 13, 2002. | Source: Getty Images.

McEntire prepared herself for what was to come, even deciding early on that she’d get an epidural when it was time for her to give birth. In February 1990, she welcomed Shelby into the world.

It hasn’t always been easy for Shelby, who was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He could barely read in school.

Reba McEntire’s Six Children

The singer shares Shelby with her ex-husband, Narvel Blackstock. He has since graduated from college and is a race car driver.

It hasn’t always been easy for Shelby, who was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He could barely read in school, yet he eventually caught up with his peers and, at one point, even read ten books in a year.

In October 2022, McEntire admitted that she never went easy on Shelby when he was a child. She wanted him to learn, even if that meant giving him a hard time once in a while.

Shelby has a family of his own, as he is married to Marissa Branch. They met on a dating app in 2014 and were friends for two years before they started dating.

The country star also became a stepmother to Coty and Lance Battles when she married their father, Charlie, in 1976. Coty and Lance have chosen to shy away from the spotlight and live quiet lives.

McEntire also has two stepkids from her relationship with Narvel Blackstock, whom she married in 1989. Her stepdaughters, Shawna and Chassidy, have chosen to keep away from the public eye.

Meanwhile, her stepson Brandon chose a different life. He is a well-known talent agent and is no stranger to the industry.

Brandon was married to Kelly Clarkson from 2013 to 2021, and they share two kids, River Rose, and Remington Alexander. Before his marriage to Clarkson, Brandon also had two children, Savannah and Seth, with his first wife, Melissa Ashworth.

Despite not being the biological mom of her stepkids, McEntire sees them as her own and still cares for them deeply despite separating from her two husbands. “I claim them all,” she once shared.

While being a stepmom introduced motherhood to her, it was being a mom to Shelby that changed the singer’s life for good. She once admitted:

“Shelby is a gift from God to me. We’re very close. I was a very self-centered person to a degree before Shelby.”

McEntire was with her second husband for 26 years when he suddenly asked for a divorce in 2015. Although she felt their marriage was going south, she never wanted a divorce and had no choice but to deal with it.

Years later, the singer wasn’t interested in finding love again. She’d, later on, realize that she didn’t need to look for love in order to find it.

Narvel Blackstock, singers Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock attend Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XXI at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa on March 28, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. | Source: Getty Images

When her mother died in 2020, another difficult time in her life, McEntire held on to her faith to keep her going. During this time, the singer’s long-time friend, American actor Rex Linn, supported her as well.

After first meeting each other in 1991, they reconnected in 2020 and never lost touch since. They would go on video calls together until their friendship eventually turned into romance.

Linn and McEntire remain inseparable. The relationship they’ve built has blossomed into a lifelong companionship that keeps the singer happy after all the difficulty she’s endured in recent years.