Reba McEntire, the country music queen, knows a thing or two about love. While she has shown to be a force to be reckoned with on her own, she has been blessed with two great lovers who have propelled her career to new heights.
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McEntire married her first husband, Charlie Battles, in 1976. Battles was a former world champion in steer wrestling. Battles rose quickly through the ranks to become her manager.
McEntire credits her first love with flinging her into the spotlight. “Until Charlie came along, my singing was always taken extremely lightly,” she told the journal.
That is until McEntire won her first Grammy in the 1980s when their marriage hit a hard point.
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Despite McEntire’s desire to continue winning honors, Battles believed it was time for her to relax. “I guess I put my job ahead of my marriage,” she explained.
In 1987, they filed for divorce, but McEntire’s broken marriage did not go down well with her fans.
She earlier told People magazine, “I was in love and the next day I was out of love.” “I have talked so much about my private life in the past,” she told the site, “that when I obtained this divorce, I was vilified.” “My admirers were perplexed.”
After marrying, the singer received three stepchildren from his previous marriage to Elisa Gayle Ritter (Chassidy, Shawna, and Brandon), and they welcomed son Shelby in 1990.
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