Charlie Battles, known as the first husband of country music icon Reba McEntire, was a champion steer wrestler and a dedicated rancher.
Their connection was built on a shared love for ranch life, something that became a big part of their marriage.
Here’s how their relationship unfolded and how Charlie’s life came to a close.
Who Was Charlie Battles?
He was born on March 9, 1945, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Earl Battles and Ocey Battles Pack. He grew up in the small towns of Talala and Oologah, where he attended school before joining the U.S. Army in 1962.
For three years, he served his country, including several months stationed in Germany as an Armor Intelligence Specialist. He was honorably discharged on July 7, 1965, and returned to Oklahoma ready to start a new chapter.
Rodeo soon became his passion. Battles competed across the United States, claiming IRA Rodeo Association steer wrestling titles in 1968, 1970, and 1971. He also earned a place at the PRCA National Finals in 1974.
By the mid-1970s, he had purchased a small ranch near Stringtown, Oklahoma, where ranch work and rodeo went hand in hand. He continued competing until the early 1990s, later shifting his focus to stock contracting.
In the mid-1990s, he moved to Detroit, Texas, and founded the Charlie Battles PRCA Rodeo Livestock Company, supplying livestock for professional rodeo events.
McEntire Also Had a Passion for Ranching and Rodeo
McEntire grew up on her family’s cattle ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma — a tiny community with barely a couple of dozen residents. Long before music took over her life, her heart was set on barrel racing.
She loved the rush of competition and the charm of rodeo life, dreaming of one day becoming a barrel-racing champion. Her sister, Alice Foran McEntire, once shared that Reba liked her horse to run fast, but not at full speed.
Her father, Clark, saw things differently. “Anybody that’s got a natural talent, I hate to see them waste it on runnin’ them old barrels,” he told her in 1974, encouraging her to sing instead. At the time, Reba was attending Southeastern Oklahoma State University, but she took her father’s advice and performed at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City.
While she eventually left the rodeo world behind, she kept a spot for the cowboy who would become her first husband.
They Were Married in 1976
Charlie and Reba got married in 1976, when he was 31 and she was 21. The age gap never seemed to matter. “I loved Charlie with all my heart, I wanted to marry him… We had a lot of fun. We rodeoed together, we ranched together,” she once said.
That same year, Reba recorded her first songs for Polygram Mercury and released her debut single, I Don’t Want to Be a One Night Stand.
By then, Battles was already a father. He had married his first wife in 1966, during his steer wrestling days, and the couple had two sons, Coty and Lance, before they divorced.
Reba and Charlie Divorced in 1987
After more than a decade together, the shared love for ranch life and rodeo wasn’t enough to keep Reba McEntire and Charlie Battles’ marriage intact. As Reba’s career soared to new heights, the pressure began to weigh heavily on their relationship.
By the mid-1980s, she had scored major hits, and her 1984 album My Kind of Country cemented her status as a star. It earned her the first of four consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the Country Music Association. Fame brought accolades — and strain. Battles wanted her to slow down, but she kept pushing forward.
“I guess I chose my career over my marriage,” Reba later admitted.
Their marriage ended in 1987, the same year she released The Last One to Know, an album she dedicated to her first husband.
Two years later, she married Narvel Blackstock, a Texas musician and former steel guitar player who became her tour manager. They welcomed son, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock, in February 1990.
Through Narvel, she also has three stepchildren — Shawna, Chassidy, and Brandon Blackstock from his first marriage to Elisa Gayle Ritter. Brandon, who was once married to Kelly Clarkson, passed away on August 7, 2025, at the age of 48.
Charlie Remarried to His Third Wife, Donna, Until His Death in 2013
Following two failed marriages, Charlie Battles found love again with Donna Granger. The two wed in 1998 while he was living in Detroit, Texas.
In 2006, Charlie suffered a major stroke that left him permanently disabled. Through it all, Donna remained by his side, caring for him without hesitation.
The couple later moved to Sulphur, Louisiana, where she continued to look after him until his passing on April 21, 2013. He died from heart failure and complications related to the stroke he had suffered seven years earlier.
