Reba McEntire’s Daughter-In-Law Marissa Blackstock Has Always Been Open About Her Fertility Journey
Reba McEntire welcomed her only child, Shelby Blackstock, in 1990 with then-husband Narvel Blackstock. Reba was already stepmom to Narvel’s three children from his previous marriage, Shawna, Brandon, and Chassidy. Even though she and their dad divorced in 2015, she is still part of their lives, seeing as she had a hand in raising them.
Sadly, Brandon passed away on August 7, 2025 after a years-long battle with skin cancer.
Shelby married his wife, Marissa, in 2022 during a gorgeous Walt Disney World wedding. After they were married, Shelby and Marissa began trying to expand their family. Marissa decided from early on that she would be very open and honest with her followers about their journey, however painful it might be.
In April 2024, Marissa opened up about the “raw and real struggle” she and Shelby have been having trying to conceive. After trying naturally for some time, Marissa and Shelby turned to the help of doctors.
In an Instagram post that was triggered by yet another negative pregnancy test, Marissa wrote,
“Here we are, another month, another cycle with Clomid, another TWW (two week wait) that feels eerily like a scene from Groundhog Day. It’s a cycle I’ve become all too familiar with. Each month, I pour my heart into creating a sanctuary within myself, hoping to welcome a little soul into a happy, healthy home. Yet, when faced with another BFN (big fat negative), the floodgates open—not just with tears, but with the harsh realization that my prayers have yet again gone unanswered.”
We applaud Marissa for being so open about this, as so many women are experiencing the same thing. The first time she spoke about her fertility struggles was in November 2024, when she revealed they have been trying to conceive for over a year.
Marissa Shared A Heartbreaking Update
In recent weeks, Marissa has shared that they began a cycle of IVF and even documented her implantation day, asking for prayers that it goes smoothly.
On December 5th, Marissa shared that for the first time ever, she saw a positive pregnancy test. And while the excitement was an an all-time high, in the days following, she and Shelby realized that they were losing the pregnancy.
The positive pregnancy test came on Thanksgiving, a fitting day, but it also came one day after her father passed away. She and her father were estranged for many years, but had reconnected a month prior. They spent the entire month getting to know each other again and expressing their love for one another, despite all the things that kept them apart for so long.
When revealing her pregnancy loss, Marissa wrote, “I’ve carried more loss this year than I ever imagined I could. First my brother-in-law, then my dad… and now our little boy. Grief has a way of reshaping your world, and I’ve learned that to survive it, you have to search for even the faintest glimmer of meaning— the small silver thread that helps your heart keep going.”
She continued, “Our little boy was that for me. He arrived the day after my dad passed, two pink lines on Thanksgiving morning… something I had never seen before in three long years of trying. And though he began to slip away in the days that followed, and today confirmed what we already knew… he still gave us something precious. He showed me that my body can do this. That hope isn’t gone.”
While she says that time may not be on their side, she still has hope. She also says that “even in the weight of this season, I’m grateful for the light he brought with him; however brief, however delicate.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with Marissa and Shelby as they navigate this loss, and pray that they achieve their dreams of becoming parents soon. See her post below.