Reba McEntire, beloved music artist and actress, is loved for her down-to-earth demeanor.
This attitude was not created to sell albums but instead began in her country roots.
Her country lifestyle would also play a huge part in how she raised her only son, and in a recent interview, she made a rare confession about family life.
Reba is one of those rare gems in music, she’s honestly so chill and so down to Earth. The 67-year-old music icon grew up on a family ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma – and she is country through and through.
When not in school, she played in a family band or helped with the cattle. Her father and grandfather were decorated rodeo champs – Reba was an avid barrel racer.
Growing up in the countryside came with certain values and many of these Reba carried with her later in life.
“Mama and Daddy always said to me, ‘If you tell somebody you’re going to be somewhere at a certain time, you show up,” she told People.
“That’s the way I was raised.”
By 1990, she was already incredibly famous and had just become a first-time mother to her son, Shelby. She knew that she would have to be careful to raise him right despite having a celebrity for a mom.
Reba made some tough decisions but stuck to her beliefs when raising Shelby.
“When we would play games or cards, I’d never let Shelby win,” she said.
“He wouldn’t have learned anything that way. I always told Shelby, ‘I’ll always love you, but I want other people to like you. So don’t be a little jerk. Don’t be a spoiled brat.’”
The GRAMMY Award-winning star and her ex-husband, Narvel Blackstock, made an effort to raise Shelby, now a race car driver, to respect others and that he was no better than any of his peers.
“A lot of people have told me you would never know (he) had been blessed with the life he was given,” she said.
McEntire also has admitted that she was a bit more selfish herself before having her son changed her. She made an effort to spend as much time as possible with him.
“I had the best nannies, and I took him on the road with me,” she said. “When I couldn’t, I would fly home after a concert, get him up in the morning, take him to school and pick him up. We’d play until I had to fly out again for a concert that night. I wanted to be with Shelby. Still do.”
The country star has been open about her son’s ADHD as well. While he could barely get through a book at a young age, he now reads avidly in his 30s.
”He’s always trying to improve and do better. His daddy did a great job too. Shelby is a gift from God to me. We’re very close. I was a very self-centered person to a degree before Shelby. But then there’s a little character who you are given the job to protect and nurture and love and teach, so all the attention’s not on you anymore.”
Reba is always proud of her son, and was especially proud of him in his recent marriage to his now-wife Marissa. The two were married at Walt Disney World, and their event looked much like a fairytale.
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