Reba McEntire + Rex Linn Have Been Engaged Longer Than We Thought

While the world only just found out about Reba McEntire‘s engagement to Rex Linn in September, the couple have been in this new stage of their relationship for almost a year.

The country veteran revealed to People that her boyfriend popped the question on Christmas Eve in 2024.

“We got engaged December the 24th. Christmas Eve in Leiper’s Fork,” she recounts. “As so we got engaged then, we were gonna make the announcement when we got back to L.A. in January.”

“And the fires happened,” she explains. “And it wasn’t appropriate.”

The California wildfires ravaged much of the Los Angeles and San Diego County areas for nearly a month. They broke out on Jan. 7 and continued to burn until the last one was extinguished on Jan. 31.

“Our joy was like … oh my gosh, these people are losing their homes — they’re taken out of their homes. We had to evacuate twice, so that wasn’t the time. And the time never presented itself until the Emmys, when it just happened.

“It wasn’t planned at all.”

Reba McEntire and Rex Linn’s Love Story

McEntire and Linn have a long history. The two met on the set of The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw in 1991. Over the years, they remained friends until things turned romantic in 2020.

The couple began chatting over Zoom during the pandemic, doing what they fondly called “coffee camp.” Essentially, they would catch up over a cup of coffee, something they still do to this day.

“I’ve never been loved by a man like Rex Linn,” the country hitmaker tells People. “Rex is a very tender-hearted man, and I just love him with all my heart. He’s a good guy. Real bashful though.”

Although plans for a wedding have yet to be announced, McEntire says she is very happy in her life.

“The way I would describe this chapter in my life right now is deliriously happy, content,” she shares.