They met in 1991, just two rising stars crossing paths on a film set. She was already Reba McEntire, the powerhouse voice of country music. He was Rex Linn, a Texas-born actor with a sharp wit and a steady charm. Their meeting was brief, casual, and then… life moved on.
Nearly three decades later, in the midst of a global pause, something beautiful happened: they reconnected — this time, not just as acquaintances, but as something deeper. And from that moment in early 2020, neither of them looked back.
Their romance began the way most modern love stories do — over text messages and long-distance phone calls. But what made this one special was how down-to-earth, funny, and sincere it was. Their first real connection? A shared love of tater tots, of all things.
“He calls me ‘Tater Tot’,” Reba once laughed in an interview, “and I call him ‘Sugar Tot.’” Beneath the humor, though, was something both of them knew they’d been missing: a love that was easy, patient, and built on mutual respect.
As they began spending more time together — including surprise visits during quarantine and cozy dinners in Reba’s Tennessee kitchen — it became clear: this wasn’t a fling. This was home.
Their relationship quickly blossomed into a beautiful partnership, both on screen and off. In 2023, they appeared together in the hit drama series “Big Sky”, where their chemistry lit up the screen just as it had started lighting up their lives.
Reba, who’s known triumph and tragedy in equal measure — including two divorces and the heartbreaking loss of her band in a 1991 plane crash — has never spoken about love quite like this before. She’s called Rex “the love of her life,” and says he makes her feel safe, seen, and cherished in ways she never expected to find again.
“I wasn’t looking,” she’s said. “But sometimes God gives you something even better than what you asked for. That’s Rex for me.”
Today, fans don’t just cheer for her music — they cheer for her happiness. Because if anyone’s earned a second chance at love, it’s Reba.
From tater tots to true love, Reba McEntire and Rex Linn’s story is proof that it’s never too late to find your forever.
