What To Know
- Reba McEntire celebrated fiancé Rex Linn’s 69th birthday with a heartfelt Instagram tribute, calling him “the love of my life” and expressing joy in sharing both work and personal life together.
- The couple, friends since the 1990s, began dating in 2020 after reconnecting during the pandemic and announced their engagement at the 2025 Emmys.
- McEntire and Linn currently co-star on NBC’s sitcom Happy’s Place, where their close partnership both on and off screen is a source of happiness for McEntire.
Reba McEntire is head over heels for fiancé Rex Linn and wanted him to know that as he celebrated his 69th birthday on Thursday (November 13).
The Queen of Country took to her Instagram story on Thursday to share a special birthday tribute to her Happy’s Place co-star. “Happy birthday to the love of my life!” she wrote alongside a photo of the happy couple. “So thrilled we get to have coffee camp together, go to work together, and have fun at Happy’s Place together!”
She added, “Have a great birthday, Sugar Tot!!!!!”
The pair have been friends since the early 1990s, but they didn’t start dating until 2020 after McEntire had guest-starred on Young Sheldon, in which Linn played Principal Tom Petersen. McEntire and Linn grew close over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, with their romantic connection growing virtually.
“We didn’t get to see each other from January [2020] till June 16, but we created an intimacy by texting and talking over the telephone that we wouldn’t have gotten if we’d have been together all of that time,” McEntire previously told E! News. “It was very special. It was a great way to find out about each other without ever touching.”
McEntire and Linn confirmed they were engaged at the 2025 Emmys on September 14. In an interview with People in October, The Voice coach revealed that Linn had popped the question back in December 2024, nine months before they shared the news publicly.
“I’ve never been loved by a man like Rex Linn,” she told the outlet. “Rex is a very tender-hearted man, and I just love him with all my heart. He’s a good guy. Real bashful though.”
The couple currently stars alongside one another on NBC’s Happy’s Place, a sitcom set in a Knoxville, Tennessee bar. McEntire plays Bobbie, a woman who inherits half of the bar following her father’s death. Meanwhile, Linn stars as Emmett, the soft-spoken cook at Happy’s Place.
“Getting to work with Rex, drive to work with Rex and do the show, the rehearsals, drive home, talk about it, rehearse together — that’s what’s really special for me,” McEntire told People. “I’ve not had that before.”
She continued, “Wherever we go, that is our Happy’s Place.”
Happy’s Place, Fridays, 8/7c, NBC