Reba McEntire Reveals What She First Bonded With Boyfriend Rex Linn Over – ‘We’ve Been Together Ever Since’

The country music icon Reba McEntire is opening up about how she first bonded with her actor boyfriend Rex Linn, who she’s been dating since January of 2020.

McEntire And Linn Bond Over Food Item

People Magazine reported that McEntire, 68, and Linn, 66, actually met back in 1991 on the set of the movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, but it wasn’t until 2020 that they shifted their relationship to being romantic. 

“I was doing ‘Young Sheldon,’ the TV show, Rex was doing ‘Young Sheldon’— so was Melissa Peterman, who played Barbara Jean on the ‘Reba’ show,” McEntire recalled. “Rex texted me and said, ‘You gonna be in town?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Well, let’s go to dinner.'”

It took a couple weeks for them to find a time that worked for them, but they eventually found themselves going out for a meal together.

“We all went to dinner, had a good time, went down the street to a wine bar, and they said, ‘Well, I understand you’ve already had dinner, but we do have some good appetizers,'” McEntire stated. 

“I said, ‘What do you have?’ They said, ‘Well, we have tater tots.’ I went, [raises hand], and so Rex said, ‘That’s your nickname from here on out — Tater Tot,'” she continued, adding that she now calls Linn by the nickname “Sugar Tot.”

“We’re the tots — sugar and tater. So, we’ve been together ever since,” she said. “He’s a sweetheart.”

Related: Reba McEntire Gushes Over ‘CSI’ Star Boyfriend – ‘Waited 66 Years For A Man To Pray With’

McEntire’s Early Days Dating Linn

McEntire began dating Linn at a difficult time in her life. Not only was the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world, but her beloved mother Jacqueline also died of cancer at the age of 93 in March of 2020. McEntire recalled going home to Oklahoma and staying with her sister Susie while “taking care of all of Mom and Dad’s things,” and Linn showed his support for them by sending them food packages in the mail.

“Every day there was a new something coming in,” McEntire said. “We live in southeastern Oklahoma, Susie does… and it takes you a long time to get anywhere. So, here comes UPS or Federal Express, and Mark Eaton, my brother-in-law, was standing out on the front porch and said, ‘What’s he gonna bring today? What’s he sending?'”

“He sent pecan pie, lobster tail, steaks — Perini steaks from south Texas — and boy, it was a good time. McConnell’s ice cream,” she added. “My little sister would ration us. We’d just get one little scoop per night while we were watching ‘Ozark.’ She was saving it.”

Check out McEntire’s full comments on Linn in the video below.

Related: Country Star Reba McEntire Reveals Which CSI Star She’s Dating

McEntire’s Romantic History

McEntire has been married twice, with her first husband being Charlie Battles, to whom she was married from 1976 until they divorced in 1987. She then married Narvel Blackstock in 1989, remaining with him for 26 years until they divorced in 2015 in a split that she openly admitted was very difficult for her. Meanwhile, Linn has never been married, but he was engaged to Renee DeRese in 2010. 

“It’s good to have a person to talk to, laugh with, get into subjects about what’s going on,” McEntire said in 2020. “Discussions about our past, our family, funny stories, him being an actor, me being an actress. And he’s very into my music. I’m very into his career. It’s just great getting to talk to somebody who I find very interesting, very funny, very smart and is interested in me, too.”

McEntire has always been one of the most down-to-earth celebrities out there, so it’s so nice to see that she seems to have found the right person for her. We’d like to wish both McEntire and Linn many years of happiness to come!