The country queen and her king had a sweet night out in honor of the Opry’s 100th anniversary.
For country fans, NBC’s three-hour live celebration of the Grand Ole Opry’s centennial anniversary, Opry 100: A Live Celebration, was a night of unmissable performances. For others, it was a chance to see their favorite celebrities in one room. And for Reba McEntire and Rex Linn, it was date night and the Happy’s Place star was full of happy tears.
Watch Opry 100: A Live Celebration on NBC and Peacock.
McEntire opened the show, singing “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” and “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” with Trisha Yearwood. Afterward, the former The Voice Coach joined her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn, in the audience to watch the rest of the performances from the audience. Did you catch her tearing up at every other song?
“The Tots” have been together for over five years
Though they’d known each other for years, they started dating in January 2020, and in October of that year, McEntire made the news public on a dating-themed episode of her Live & Learning podcast. “He’s very special … I put myself in his shoes, and I said, ‘If he was doing this podcast [about dating] and he didn’t mention me, I would be crushed,’” she admitted.
A few weeks later, Linn posted a photo of himself and McEntire on Instagram, revealing his cute nickname for his lady: “TATER TOT,” he captioned the photo. “Angel on the ground (and on a cooler).” McEntire calls Linn “Sugar Tot” and they call themselves “The Tots.”
In addition to being sweethearts, Linn and McEntire are co-stars on the NBC sitcom Happy’s Place, which was recently renewed for a second season on NBC. The series takes place at a Tennessee tavern, and also features Pablo Castelblanco as the bar’s accountant Steve, and Tokala Black Elk as waiter Takoda. In a chat with NBC Insider, Escobedo and Castelblanco revealed what it’s like working with a real-life couple.
“They’re so cute that they’re gross,” Escobedo joked. “No, I’m just kidding, but they are like sickeningly sweet…I love seeing them be happy…I can’t imagine how cool it is to go to work and be able to be with your boo. That’s really sweet.”
“They’re also, like, very supportive of each other,” Castelblanco said. “I feel like they know their tempos really well. Rex loves to rehearse the episodes. I think Reba’s like… waits a little bit more to see what the final lines are gonna be.”
Castelblanco explained that they have slightly different approaches to the craft. “Like, ‘Oh, you should rehearse more,’ and she’s like, ‘Well, you should wait until the lines…’ and I just love that they’re, like, keeping each other safe and… happy, but then at the same time they’re kind of like…you know they’re a couple.”
The sweetest couple indeed!