Somewhere between a plate of crispy appetizers and a burst of uncontrollable laughter, country music’s reigning queen and Hollywood’s favorite cowboy accidentally invented the sweetest, silliest love language the genre has ever known.

It started innocently enough. Reba McEntire and Rex Linn, together since early 2020, had already charmed the world with their pandemic-born romance (Zoom dates that turned into nightly phone marathons, drive-in movie nights, and a shared obsession with true-crime documentaries). But it wasn’t until a casual Instagram Live in the spring of 2021 that the world first heard the magic words.

Reba, glowing in a soft pink sweater, was showing off a basket of homemade tater tots she’d just pulled from the oven when Rex wandered into frame wearing his signature grin and a “Young Guns” T-shirt.

“Look at my handsome man,” Reba cooed, waving a tot like a tiny trophy. “He gets so excited for these things, he’s like a little sugar tot running around the kitchen.”

The chat exploded. “Sugar Tot???” “Did she just call Rex Linn SUGAR TOT?” Within minutes #SugarTot was trending nationwide.

Rex, never one to let a good joke die, leaned into the camera with that deadpan delivery he perfected on CSI: Miami and Yellowstone. “Well if I’m Sugar Tot,” he drawled, “then you’re Tater Tot, baby.”

And just like that, the nicknames were born.

What fans first assumed was a cute one-off quickly became the couple’s trademark. Reba started signing off Instagram posts with “Love, your Tater Tot.” Rex began answering interview questions about Reba with “My Tater Tot’s the boss.” At the 2023 ACM Honors, when Reba presented an award, Rex—seated front row—held up a handmade sign that read “That’s my Tater Tot!” The cameras caught Reba spotting it mid-speech, her laugh breaking through the teleprompter as she ad-libbed, “Y’all leave my Sugar Tot alone!”

But the real origin story, the one Reba finally spilled on The Kelly Clarkson Show in November 2025, is even more deliciously random.

It happened during their very first in-person date after months of lockdown flirting. Rex had invited Reba over for a low-key dinner at his Los Angeles home. Nervous and wanting to impress the woman he’d been crushing on since they met on the set of Kenny Rogers’ Gambler movies in 1991, Rex went all out: steaks on the grill, twice-baked potatoes, and—because he remembered Reba mentioning a weakness for comfort food—a tray of homemade tater tots.

“I walk in,” Reba recalled, eyes sparkling with the memory, “and there’s Rex, apron on, dancing around the kitchen like a kid on Christmas morning because the tots came out perfect. Crispy outside, fluffy inside. He was so proud. He kept saying, ‘You gotta try these, they’re gonna change your life!’ And I just looked at him—this big, tough cowboy actor—and thought, ‘Lord, he’s the cutest little sugar tot I’ve ever seen.’”

Rex, watching from the audience, nodded vigorously. “And I thought, if she’s gonna call me a tot, I’m calling her one right back. But she’s the sweet one, so she’s Sugar Tot, and I’m just the plain ol’ tater.”

The names stuck immediately. Within days, Rex was texting Reba good-morning messages signed “Your Tater,” and Reba was leaving voicemails that ended with “Love you, Sugar Tot.” They started using them in public without thinking—on red carpets, in 2022 when a reporter asked how they were enjoying the evening, Rex answered, “Doin’ great, just happy to be here with my Tater Tot,” and Reba dissolved into giggles. At the 2024 Kentucky Derby, when Reba performed the national anthem, Rex posted a video of her rehearsal with the caption “Tater Tot crushin’ it as usual.” Even Reba’s mom, Jacqueline, reportedly started calling Rex “Sugar” at family dinners.

What makes the nicknames so irresistible isn’t just the randomness; it’s the glimpse they offer into a relationship that feels joyfully, stubbornly ordinary in the best way only two extraordinarily famous people can manage. Reba, 70, is country royalty: 55 million records sold, three Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a resume that spans from Broadway’s Annie Get Your Gun to hosting the ACM Awards 17 times. Rex, 69, is the character-actor king: Horatio Caine’s right-hand man on CSI: Miami, Principal Petersen on Young Sheldon, and Kevin Wachtell on Better Call Saul. Together, they’re a power couple by any measure, yet their love language is diner food and dumb jokes.

They’ve leaned all the way in. Reba’s 2025 Christmas album includes a playful track called “Tater Tot Lullaby,” a swing version of “Rock-a-Bye Baby” with Rex providing the low harmony. Rex’s Instagram bio now reads “Tater Tot to the one and only Sugar Tot.” They sell “Sugar Tot” and “Tater Tot” couples’ aprons on Reba’s official merch site (they sold out in 48 hours). And when they made their red-carpet debut as a couple at the 2023 ACM Awards, Reba wore a gown embroidered with tiny gold potatoes along the hem, while Rex’s pocket square had a single embroidered word: SUGAR.

Even their friends can’t escape the tot-ification. Kix Brooks calls them “the Tots,” Kelly Clarkson refers to them as “my favorite fried-couple,” and Melissa Peterman (Reba’s Reba co-star) started a running gag on set calling craft services “the Tot Truck.”

But the sweetest part? The nicknames are never performative. Watch any joint interview (the 2024 People magazine cover story, the 2025 CMA Fest red-carpet special, or their joint appearance on The Voice finale) and you’ll see it: Rex’s hand instinctively finding the small of Reba’s back when she laughs, Reba’s eyes lighting up every time he calls her “Tater” like it’s the first time. In a world of curated celebrity romances, theirs feels like the real deal: two kids from Oklahoma who found each other late in life and decided to keep it light, well, tater-iffic.

So the next time you hear Reba sign off a post with “XOXO, Tater Tot” or see Rex grin and say “That’s my Sugar Tot,” know it’s not just cute. It’s the sound of two people who took something as ordinary as a basket of tater tots and turned it into a love story for the ages.

Because sometimes the best love languages aren’t French or Italian. Sometimes they’re just deep-fried, perfectly seasoned, and served with a side of laughter.