What Did Kelly Clarkson’s Ex Brandon Blackstock Do For a Living?

Before Brandon Blackstock’s untimely death at age 48 from cancer, which was announced on August 7, the former talent manager pivoted his career to that of a cattle rancher.

After he and Kelly Clarkson finalized their divorce in 2022, Blackstock bought a home in Butte, Montana, and named his business V Bar V Cattle Co., Us Weekly reported.

In 2020, Clarkson told viewers on her show, “Brandon has been a cowboy his whole life.”

“He grew up in Wyoming, especially working on cattle ranches. It was always kind of a dream of his. It was always a dream of mine to own a ranch, so this worked out for both of us,” the “American Idol” winner said of their shared Montana estate at the time.

Clarkson continued, “He loves to just escape for the day and ride horses.”

Blackstock expanded his business in 2024 to include a rodeo, which he ran with Clarkson’s former assistant, per The U.S. Sun.

Called Valley View Rodeo, the show, which takes place in Bozeman, Montana, includes bull-riding and barrel racing. According to the outlet, VIP tickets can go as high as $640.

Blackstock Was a Talent Manager Before Becoming a Rancher

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Prior to becoming a rancher, Blackstock was a music talent manager who worked under his father Narvel’s company, Starstruck Entertainment.

One of Blackstock’s clients was Blake Shelton, and he also managed Clarkson for three years before their split.

He was also an executive producer on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in 2019 and 2020.

Clarkson told Marie Claire in 2018 of working with her then-husband, “I wouldn’t have hired Brandon to be my manager if I didn’t see first-hand how great he is at that and how much he cares about Blake.”

“And the way that [Blake’s] career has blown up, I would have hired Brandon regardless. He’s really talented at what he does, and his mind really does work in a completely different way,” the “Voice” coach said.

She continued, “I’m always like “is this your manager hat?” And he’ll go “oh, is this your artist hat? Are we going there? [laughs]” So, we’re pretty good about that.”

“I mean, we just have the regular marriage, kids thing, to where it’s like, ‘I am not putting them to bed, you are,'” Clarkson joked.