{"id":46604,"date":"2025-09-22T16:25:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T20:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=46604"},"modified":"2025-09-22T16:25:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T20:25:57","slug":"reba-mcentire-and-rex-linn-are-engaged-after-5-years-of-dating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/reba-mcentire-and-rex-linn-are-engaged-after-5-years-of-dating.html","title":{"rendered":"Reba McEntire and Rex Linn Are Engaged After 5 Years of Dating"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathy Hutchins \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Country music icon Reba McEntire has found love once more \u2014 and this time, it\u2019s leading her to the altar. After five years of dating, McEntire and actor Rex Linn are officially engaged.<\/p>\n

The news broke when an E! Online<\/em> reporter casually referred to Linn as McEntire\u2019s fianc\u00e9 on the red carpet at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. The couple didn\u2019t correct the slip, and a representative later confirmed the happy news to Fox News Digital<\/em>.<\/p>\n

McEntire, 70, and Linn, 68, first met way back in 1991, but their relationship didn\u2019t blossom until decades later. The two reconnected in 2020 after McEntire guest-starred on Young Sheldon<\/em>, where Linn was already a cast member. That same year, as McEntire\u2019s mother grew ill, Linn reached out. \u201cIn 2020, when Mama got sick, he called me,\u201d McEntire recalled on Today. \u201cWe\u2019d gotten to see each other before because we\u2019re both on Young Sheldon. So starting in March of 2020, we just kept talking and visiting and finally got together, see each other in June. And we\u2019ve been pretty much inseparable ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s bond grew during the early days of COVID-19, when long-distance communication brought them closer. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get to see each other from January till June 16 [due to COVID], but we created an intimacy by texting and talking over the telephone that we wouldn\u2019t have gotten if we\u2019d have been together all of that time,\u201d McEntire explained. \u201cIt was very special. It was a great way to find out about each other without ever touching.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWe\u2019ve been pretty much inseparable ever since June 16 of 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

For McEntire, this new chapter comes after some tough years. She\u2019s been married twice before \u2014 to rancher Charlie Battles from 1976 to 1987, and to her former manager Narvel Blackstock from 1989 until their divorce in 2015. After those painful endings, she admitted she wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d ever walk down the aisle again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been married twice. After the second one dissolved, I don\u2019t have much faith in\u2026 being bound by a piece of paper or a ring,\u201d she told E! News<\/em> last year. \u201cBut I\u2019m truly committed to Rex, so if that\u2019s something he feels totally strong about, that\u2019s fine with me. He\u2019s never been married before. So if he wants to experience that, I\u2019m OK with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems Linn did want that commitment \u2014 and now, they\u2019re taking the leap together.<\/p>\n

McEntire often gushes about the connection she shares with Linn, whom she affectionately calls \u201cSugar Tot.\u201d \u201cOur connection is like a magnet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, she praised their bond in an interview with Fox News<\/em>: \u201cWe get along in every aspect. He\u2019s a better cook than I am, so I like that, for sure. We love Longhorns, we love the cowboy way of life, cowgirl way of life, and we both got into the entertainment industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their partnership extends to their professional lives, too. The couple now star together on the sitcom “Happy\u2019s Place.” For Linn, working alongside McEntire is \u201ca dream come true.” “We are best friends. We wanna cross the finish line with each other in a relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also admitted he sneaks in little romantic moments on set: \u201cEvery once in a while, I\u2019ll sneak by for a quick kiss, just a peck on the cheek and keep on moving. It\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

McEntire summed up their relationship beautifully in a 2024 interview: \u201cEvery day is Valentine\u2019s Day for us. We\u2019re just silly, goofy people in our 60s that love life [and] love each other. We have fun. We\u2019re dorky, goofy, and we have similar interests in just about everything, so it\u2019s just fun all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of heartache, it seems Reba has finally found her forever \u2014 and fans couldn\u2019t be happier to see her smiling again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Country music icon Reba McEntire has found love once more \u2014 and this time, it\u2019s leading her to the altar. After five years of dating, McEntire and actor Rex Linn are officially engaged. The news broke when an E! Online reporter casually referred to Linn as McEntire\u2019s fianc\u00e9 on the red carpet at the 77th…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":33443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nReba McEntire and Rex Linn Are Engaged After 5 Years of Dating<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reba McEntire is engaged to Rex Linn after five years together, finding lasting love and joy following two divorces and renewed faith in love.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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