At 70, Reba McEntire is no stranger to reinvention—whether it’s belting chart-toppers that have defined country music for five decades, commanding stages from the Grand Ole Opry to Broadway’s Annie Get Your Gun, or trading her signature red hair for a sassy sitcom role on NBC’s Happy’s Place. But her latest chapter, a long-awaited engagement to actor Rex Linn, feels like the most authentic encore yet: a low-key celebration of enduring love that defies the glitz of her Hollywood orbit. In a candid chat with E! News on November 3, 2025, the Queen of Country peeled back the curtain on their “nontraditional” wedding plans, emphasizing a gathering rooted in “comfort, friends, and food” rather than extravagance. “It’ll be a lot of fun,” McEntire beamed, her Oklahoma twang laced with that trademark warmth. “It’s gonna be a nontraditional wedding because that’s Rex and me—we like things simple, with family and close ones around the table.” As the couple, who confirmed their betrothal at the 2025 Emmys after a secretive Christmas Eve 2024 proposal, maps out this heartfelt affair, fans are swooning over a blueprint that mirrors the unpretentious spirit of their romance—one that’s weathered wildfires, pandemics, and the relentless spotlight.

McEntire and Linn’s love story is the stuff of serendipitous ballads, the kind she’d pen about second chances and slow-burn sparks. They first crossed paths in 1991 on the set of The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, a Kenny Rogers Western where she starred as the fiery Burgundy Jones and he popped in for a cameo as a poker player. “He gets a big kick out of it to this day,” McEntire recalled on Today in April 2023, chuckling at the memory of their fleeting, friendly exchange amid horse chases and card sharps. Life, as it often does in country lore, pulled them apart: she married manager Narvel Blackstock in 1989, building an empire that included a Las Vegas residency and her eponymous 2001-2007 sitcom; he carved a niche in Hollywood character roles, from the gruff sheriff in Twister to the booming voice of the Burger King in those iconic ads. Their paths diverged until fate, disguised as a script, rekindled the flame.

Enter 2020, the year the world ground to a halt. McEntire, fresh off a guest spot on Young Sheldon, received a text from Linn: “You going to be in town?” What started as pandemic-era check-ins—daily calls that stretched from 20 minutes to two hours—blossomed into something profound. “We were both single, both working from home, and suddenly, these conversations were everything,” Linn shared on The Jennifer Hudson Show in July 2025. By January, amid California’s lockdown haze, he jetted to Oklahoma for their first in-person date: a simple dinner at her ranch, followed by stargazing that felt like destiny’s spotlight. “Rex is my rock,” McEntire has said repeatedly, crediting his steady presence for helping her navigate the grief of losing her mother Jacqueline in 2020 and her stepmother in the same year. Their bond deepened through shared quirks—her love of Broadway musicals, his passion for Texas barbecue—and professional synergy: co-starring as sparring siblings on Happy’s Place, a workplace comedy that premiered in October 2025 to rave reviews for its sharp wit and heartfelt chemistry.

The proposal, a tender crescendo to five years of courtship, unfolded on Christmas Eve 2024 at McEntire’s Nashville home. Linn, 68 and a self-proclaimed “hopeless romantic” who’s never been married, dropped to one knee with a rose gold ring encircled by black diamonds—a custom piece he’d carried since a June 2024 African safari, scouting gems under the savanna sun. “I wanted something that screamed us: elegant but edgy, like Reba’s voice,” he told USA Today in November. McEntire, ever the storyteller, kept the moment private for months, honoring the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires that ravaged her community and made public joy feel tone-deaf. “The time never felt right until the Emmys,” she explained, when an E! News reporter’s casual “fiancé” quip on the red carpet slipped the cat from the bag. The confirmation, laced with laughter, went viral: “Yes, we’re engaged! Rex finally made an honest woman out of me,” McEntire joked, flashing the ring that sparkled like a honky-tonk chandelier.

Now, with the world in on the secret, the couple is scripting a ceremony that shuns the spectacle often demanded of icons. No sprawling estates or A-list extravaganzas here—though insiders whisper Dolly Parton, McEntire’s longtime confidante who reportedly nudged Linn to pop the question, will be front-row with her guitar in tow. Instead, envision a sun-dappled Nashville backyard or an Oklahoma ranch gathering: long communal tables groaning under brisket, cornbread, and pecan pie; wildflowers in mason jars nodding to their Southern roots; and a playlist blending McEntire’s “Fancy” with Linn’s Texas swing favorites. “We’re not rushing the altar, but when we do, it’s about us—no fuss, just folks who matter,” McEntire told People exclusively in early November, her eyes twinkling with that post-70 glow she attributes to Linn’s unwavering adoration. “I feel like a teenager again—giggling over texts, planning adventures. He’s the love I didn’t know I was missing.”

This “nontraditional” ethos is quintessentially Reba: a woman who’s always marched to her own two-step. Her first marriage to Charlie Battles, a steer-roping champ she wed at 21 in 1976, lasted a decade and produced no children but honed her independence amid rodeo circuits and rising stardom. The second, to Blackstock in 1989, was a 26-year partnership that birthed son Shelby, now 35 and a competitive equestrian, but ended in 2015 amid the dissolution of their joint management company. “Divorce teaches you grace,” McEntire reflected in her 2023 memoir Not That Fancy, a New York Times bestseller that doubled as a love letter to resilience. “You learn to hold what’s precious without clutching too tight.” Linn, with his booming laugh and zero baggage from prior walks down the aisle, represents that lesson incarnate—a partner who cheers her Voice coaching triumphs (she’s gunning for a third win in Season 28) as fiercely as he savors quiet nights debating Young Sheldon scripts.

Linn’s influence on McEntire’s unbridled joy is palpable. The Texas-born actor, whose gravelly timbre has narrated everything from CSI: Miami to fast-food empires, brings a grounded levity to her whirlwind life. “Rex makes me laugh till my sides ache— that’s rarer than a No. 1 hit these days,” she quipped on The Kelly Clarkson Show in October. Their shared screen time on Happy’s Place—where she plays a bar owner inheriting her half-brother (Linn)—has only amplified the sparks, with critics praising their “sibling synergy that feels like foreplay.” Off-camera, they’ve built rituals: weekend hikes in the Smoky Mountains, where McEntire sketches song ideas and Linn regales her with tall tales from his Better Call Saul days; cooking marathons yielding chili that could rival Nashville’s best; and annual pilgrimages to Graceland, honoring Elvis as the king who bridged their worlds.

As wedding whispers evolve into plans, McEntire’s vision extends beyond the vows. She’s eyeing a spring 2026 date—post-Voice finale, pre-summer tours—to allow breathing room for her daughters-in-spirit, Sunday and Faith Walker (from ex Tom Cruise), who dote on her like bonus granddaughters. Shelby, her pride and joy, is tipped to walk her down the aisle, a full-circle nod to the family she’s fiercely protected. “This isn’t about white dresses and tiered cakes,” she clarified to Vogue in a November profile, posing in a Stetson amid autumn leaves. “It’s a hoedown with heart—dancing till dawn, toasts that roast, and enough love to fill a coliseum.” Potential guests? A constellation of country royalty: Parton crooning a duet, Miranda Lambert toasting with tequila shots, and perhaps a surprise from Urban, whose tour bus once ferried McEntire through her Vegas heyday.

The outpouring from fans has been a chorus of adoration, flooding social media with #RebaRexForever montages and fan art of them two-stepping into sunset. “Finally, a love story as timeless as ‘The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia’,” one devotee posted, racking up 100,000 likes. McEntire, ever the connector, has responded with gratitude posts: a selfie from a Voice rehearsal captioned “Counting blessings—and y’all are the biggest.” At an age when many peers ponder legacies in past tense, she’s scripting hers in present perfect: a third act brimming with melody, mischief, and marriage on her terms.

In an industry that chews up heartstrings for hits, McEntire and Linn’s union stands as a defiant harmony—a reminder that the best love songs aren’t about perfection, but persistence. As she told E! News, wrapping the interview with a wink, “Rex and I? We’re just getting started. Fancy? Nah. Fabulous? Absolutely.” With simple vows on the horizon, the Queen of Country is poised to add another verse to her unbreakable ballad—one filled with laughter, loved ones, and the kind of joy that needs no spotlight to shine.