Reba McEntire’s Shocking Engagement to Rex Linn: After Two Heartbreaking Divorces, She Admits She’s “Dead Scared of Marriage” — Is This Love Her Redemption or Just Another Painful Illusion?.LC

In a bittersweet bombshell laced with joy and jagged pain that’s left Reba McEntire’s global fanbase stunned and uneasy, the 70-year-old country music queen – an icon with a powerhouse voice and eternal hits like “Fancy” and “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” dominating Billboard for over four decades – has confirmed her engagement to boyfriend Rex Linn,

her “Happy’s Place” co-star, unveiled through an emotional Instagram post in 2024, but behind the beaming smiles and sparkling diamond ring lurks the grim shadow of two gut-wrenching divorces that scarred her soul, prompting her raw admission on The Drew Barrymore Show that “I lost faith in marriage; it terrified me so much I never thought I’d try again,” a haunting confession echoing the deep wounds from her first marriage to Charlie Battles in 1976 ending in 1987 after 11 turbulent years marred by domestic violence and career strains, and her second to manager Narvel Blackstock in 1989 crumbling in 2015 after 26 years where love drowned in endless business deals, leaving her with a staggering $47.5 million settlement that plunged her into “dead scared” panic as she relearned basics like milk prices, turning her engagement to Rex into a high-stakes bet where late-blooming love risks shattering once more under age’s weight and past ghosts. Reba McEntire, the Oklahoma powerhouse with over 75 million records sold, 24 No. 1 Billboard smashes, and a thriving acting career in the Reba series, crossed paths with Rex Linn – the 67-year-old actor famed for CSI: Miami and Young Sheldon – in the 1990s via mutual friend Melissa Peterman, but their spark ignited in 2020 when Rex stood by her through her mother’s grave illness, a lifeline Reba described to People as “the turning point;

Rex was my rock when I was at my weakest,” leading to cozy dates like bowling nights and home-cooked meals, yet after two marital wrecks – the first with Battles instilling terror of control and dependency, the second with Blackstock morphing romance into a 24/7 grind – Reba confessed on Whine Down podcast, “Marriage wrecked me deep; I figured I’d never dare again,” a fear that stalled her and Rex for two years before she accepted his June 2024 proposal, dubbing it a “leap of faith” but with fans fretting history’s cruel repeat amid Rex’s career demands and Reba’s unhealed scars. The engagement dropped via Reba’s Instagram snap of her and Rex lakeside embrace, captioned “He asked, and I said yes – now he’s stuck with me!”, exploding to over 1 million likes and comments from Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, but the glee masks torment from her past – Battles’ abuse and Battles’ financial stranglehold – that left Reba “throwing fits” in rage over abandonment, a phase she called “terrifying” on Good Morning America, and though Rex’s humor and steadiness seem the antidote, her 70 years and divorce history breed doubt if this bond will endure or fracture again under spotlight strain and unpatched wounds. Their romance, blooming from pandemic chats and simple outings, earned Reba’s SiriusXM praise as “Rex is my best friend; we laugh and share everything,” but post-two marital failures – one laced with violence, the other business nonstop – Reba rebuilt trust, a grind she shared on The Talk: “I lost everything, but Rex helped me find me again,” and while the engagement sparks hope, her scars from control fears to money reliance haunt, with fans questioning if this love lasts or crumbles, especially as Reba peaks with new series and tours but health and time complicate it all. This reveal isn’t pure bliss but stirs unease over an uncertain future, with Reba – survivor of her mom’s 2020 death and stage mishaps – now gambling on love anew, and though Rex’s patience shines, her history screams caution, turning the engagement into a fragile dream fans fear shatters in tears, with whispers of a secret wedding fueling bets on if this happiness holds or crumbles under harsh reality’s boot.