Reba McEntire and Rex Linn just proved that love can take its sweet time and still steal the show in the biggest way possible.
The 2025 Emmy Awards had plenty of glitter, drama, and big TV moments, but the red carpet came to a standstill when the Queen of Country walked in with her longtime love Rex Linn and confirmed that they are officially engaged. After five years of dating, the 70-year-old legend and her 68-year-old actor fiancé announced their news without pomp or staged theatrics, but with a simple and genuine acknowledgment that left fans and reporters grinning ear to ear.
The reveal happened after E! News correspondent Zuri Hall casually referred to Linn as Reba’s fiancé while interviewing the couple outside the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. Without missing a beat, Reba beamed and rolled with it, making it clear that she is walking into this next chapter of her life with the same confidence and warmth she brings to the stage. For a woman who has seen just about everything in the entertainment industry, this felt like the kind of surprise that even Hollywood could not script.
Reba and Rex’s story goes back decades, although the sparks didn’t really fly until later in life. They first met in the 1990s, but life took them in separate directions. It wasn’t until 2020, after the death of Reba’s mother and during the stillness of quarantine, that the two reconnected. Both were working on Young Sheldon at the time, and one phone call from Rex turned into daily conversations, then into visits, and eventually into a love that Reba admits became inseparable almost instantly. She once said, “We’ve been pretty much inseparable since June 2020,” and by the looks of things, she wasn’t exaggerating.
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Their relationship has been refreshingly playful and grounded. In interviews, Reba has laughed about Rex being the better cook, and the couple has bonded over their love of the cowboy lifestyle, their shared roots in entertainment, and their goofy and lighthearted approach to life. As Reba put it earlier this year, “Every day is Valentine’s Day for us.” That sentiment is not just sweet talk, because it is backed up by the way Rex gushes about her as his best friend and his partner in everything. He once said they plan to “cross the finish line together,” and judging from their Emmy night smiles, they are dead serious about that.
The Emmy spotlight only amplified their magic. Reba was already in town to perform as part of the show’s 40th anniversary tribute to The Golden Girls, a performance that proved she still knows how to command a stage. However, it was her off-stage moment with Rex that truly left an impression. When asked which Golden Girls character she related to most, Reba said she is like Dorothy, straightforward and blunt. Rex quickly chimed in with a joke about not liking puppies if you don’t like the iconic show, showing once again how naturally they complement each other.
For Reba, this engagement marks her third time walking down the aisle. She has been open about the ups and downs of her past marriages, but she has also made it clear that she is not afraid of love. This time, the joy on her face says it all. And for Rex, who has never been married, the engagement represents a brand-new beginning that he is embracing with open arms.
At 70, Reba McEntire could have chosen to keep her personal life private and off the record. Instead, she and Rex shared their news in a way that was authentic, heartfelt, and impossible to ignore. If the Emmys are about celebrating the best stories in entertainment, then Reba and Rex gave us one of the night’s most unforgettable plot twists.
