Montana Rodeo Founder & Kelly Clarkson’s Ex Dies at 48

When Kelly Clarkson split from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2022, he didn't just go quietly into Hollywood ex-land. He sold their Montana ranch and showed up in Butte like it was the most normal thing ever. And instead of managing music, he decided to try out the cowboy lifestyle by creating his very own rodeo. Because there's nothing like the big sky and bull riding to give a "fresh start" to the soul.

Read More: Kelly Clarkson May Quit Talk Show for Montana Ranch |

The Kelly Connection

If you have been keeping up with the whole mess of a divorce, she was granted primary custody of their two children, the $17 million Montana ranch went up for sale, and Blackstock packed it in and left the entertainment business behind him to enjoy 40 acres of Montana solitude. Or so we thought. His Valley View Rodeo turned into a star-studded Old West party.

Rodeo Life to the Very End

Blackstock ran the rodeo until cancer showed up. He left far too soon at 48 years of age, losing his three-year fight with melanoma on the ranch in Butte. Clarkson also allegedly shifted her workload to make time for their children in his last weeks, holding off on her Las Vegas residency.

Celebrities and Montana Ranch Fever

Montanans have seen this before: celebrities that swoop into the state, buy some land, play cowboy for a couple of years, and ultimately sell their property or disappear back to California. But this one was unique in that Blackstock stayed! He didn't just pretend to own a ranch for the 'gram; he booked some riders and brought rodeo culture to Bozeman.