apple watch series 6 black screen cannot update until iOS 26 is installed on iphone 12

I went to look at my series 6 watch face and it is black even though the watch is fully charged. The only physical issue with it is the bezel does not work with ECG function. I then checked if an update was pending through the phone app and a pop up window indicated I needed to update my phone. The pending update is the major iOS 26 otherwise my phone up to date at 18.7.1. Has anyone else experienced this issue?