Narvel Blackstock's decision to leave Reba McEntire 'blew up in his face' as she enjoys $13M 'Voice' gig

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Country music icon Reba McEntire and her ex-husband Narvel Blackstock separated almost 10 years ago, but according to acquaintances of the 'The Voice' coach, she now thinks Blackstock used the marriage to fatten his wallet.

During an interview on 'The Drew Barrymore Show' in early March, the queen of country music opened up about her marriage to Blackstock.

Well-known producer and manager Blackstock married McEntire in 1989; the two parted ways in 2015. Given how much their work lives interacted, McEntire called their relationship "always business."

Reba McEntire got her revenge through 'The Voice' gig

Speaking on 'The Drew Barrymore Show', the 'I'm a Survivor' singer opened up about her marriage with Narvel Blackstock by saying, "I think it works for some people. They can be married or have a relationship and work together. Our work was all the time."

In 1980, McEntire—now 69 years old—hired Blackstock to provide steel guitar for her traveling ensemble. He ascended the ranks to become tour manager, personal manager, and eventually her husband when the two got married in 1989, all in less than 10 years, per Radar Online.

"It was a situation that was always business," the legendary country music singer stated. "Whether we were getting ready in the morning, pillow talk, whatever, but it was business."

However, the singer found the divorce Blackstock whipped up in 2015 to terminate their 26-year marriage to be, "in any shape, form or fashion," ridiculous.

McEntire eventually got her comeuppance when Blackstock's Starstruck Entertainment agency suffered significant setbacks.

The 'Fancy' vocalist not only left the group, but Kelly Clarkson also left them in 2020 after divorcing Narvel's manager and son from his first marriage, Brandon Blackstock.

Blake Shelton, McEntire's ex-husband's last surviving famous client, hoofed it in 2021 shortly after.

"Reba says she hates to believe it, but after she turned 60, she thinks Narvel was feeling she wasn't going to be a big money-maker so he didn't want to stay in the marriage," an acquaintance revealed to the National Enquirer.

The pal continued, "She ended up feeling used. But it turned out his company took a nosedive after their divorce, so Reba can look back and say the decision blew up in Narvel's face!"

Reba McEntire's astronomical eight-figure 'The Voice' salary revealed

Reba McEntire reportedly receives a substantial salary for 'The Voice', but as the network deals with extensive budget reviews, talk of raises is waning.

Sources said that the legendary country singer receives approximately $13 million per season, which puts her at the highest end of the show's talent budget, per Radar Online.

Recent changes to the singing competition show include the addition of Dan + Shay, the program's first-ever coaching tandem. NBC officials, according to insiders, were "tightening spending."

An NBC contractor claimed that "there is a substantial trimming of costs and ways of looking at not increasing spending. You can trim the budgets here and there but the reality is that the biggest fees come from the judges' pay."

"Reba is getting around $13 million a season and that is the higher end of the fee range for talent — and a very substantial sum," the source added.

The source said it was unlikely that McEntire would receive a raise, although her $13 million season contract is not the highest of any coach on the singing competition show.

Former coaches Niall Horan and Camilla Cabello made several million less per season than McEntire, according to a member of the production team, bringing in about $8 million, while Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine brought in $14.5 million.