Reba McEntire opened up about getting engaged to boyfriend Rex Linn at age 70.
“I’ve never been loved by a man like Rex Linn,” she told People on Tuesday, October 21, noting that Linn, 68, popped the question late last year. (The couple waited until last month to go public with the news.)
McEntire, 70, gushed over her connection with Linn. “Rex is a very tenderhearted man, and I just love him with all my heart,” she continued. “He’s a good guy. Real bashful though.”
While reflecting on their relationship, McEntire said working with Linn on Happy’s Place has only made things better, adding, “Wherever we go, that is our Happy’s Place. Getting to work with Rex, drive to work with Rex and do the show, the rehearsals, drive home, talk about it, rehearse together — that’s what’s really special for me. I’ve not had that before.”
McEntire and Linn originally met while filming 1991’s The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, but they didn’t pursue a romance until nearly three decades later. The singer was previously married to Charlie Battles from 1976 to 1987 and music manager Narvel Blackstock from 1989 to 2015. She shares son Shelby, born in 1990, with Blackstock.
After reconnecting, McEntire and Linn have had fun starring in the same projects, including Big Sky and Happy’s Place.
“Rex and I are best friends. We have the same likes and dislikes. We’re foodies. We love to cook. We each wanted to be a cowboy and a cowgirl,” McEntire exclusively told Us Weekly in an October 2024 cover story. “Then we got into the entertainment business instead. Our dynamic works on and off screen.”
McEntire shared with Us about how Linn changed her for the better.
“Rex brings out the little girl in me, and I have fun. I’m dorky, I’m goofy. He is too. We love to laugh, and we love each other,” she explained. “We both love watching television. We’re always on the lookout for a new series or movie to watch. He says that it’s his homework, watching other actors and learning from them. I do it for pure enjoyment.”
While attending the Emmys in September, McEntire and Linn subtly confirmed that they had taken their romance to the next level. McEntire told People that she’s “happier now than I’ve ever been in my life.”
“It’s amazing. It’s wonderful being 70 and getting to do what I get to do at the level I want to do it,” she shared about working on her NBC sitcom. “And having Melissa Peterman on the show and Rex Linn … we are a tight-knit family, an acting team, and we have so much fun together. It’s natural. Anytime I get to step on that set, I feel like home. It’s my happy place.”
McEntire was also asked about possible plans for retirement.
“I don’t know when. It could be in 20 years,” McEntire said. “I think I’ll know when it’s the time. Dolly [Parton] and I talked about that an awful lot when she did the Reba show, and I said, ‘Are you going to retire?’ She said, ‘Why would I? What in the world could I do and have as much fun as what I’m doing in this job right now?’”
She continued, “I agree with her 100 percent. Slow down, maybe, but no plans of retiring. I love this chapter in my life. I’m very grateful.”
