Brandon Blackstock’s death hit close to home for Teddi Mellencamp as she fights her own battle against stage 4 melanoma. On the Wednesday, August 13, installment of her Two T’s in a Pod podcast show,

Clarkson has yet to speak out about Blackstock’s death — but she’s said to be “devastated” for her kids River, 11, and Remington, 9, over the tragedy. “When she found out that he was sick, she remained protective of him for their sake,” an insider told People on Friday.