Brandon Blackstock, the late ex-husband of singer Kelly Clarkson, was a father of four. The talent manager died on August 7 after a private cancer diagnosis. Blackstock was 48 years old. “It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,

"Brandon Blackstock passed away peacefully at his home in Butte, Montana on August 7th under hospice care surrounded by his family,” Silver Bow County Coroner Dan Hollis tells PEOPLE, confirming that Blackstock's cause of death was melanoma; the manner of death was natural causes.

The ‘American Idol’ alum shares two children with her late ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, and has always made them her top priority.