Photo: NBC
Reba McEntire sparks an on-screen romance with her real-life fiancé, Rex Linn, in a new Happy’s Place sneak peek shared by NBC on Tuesday (November 4).
McEntire plays Bobbie, “a tough but lovable woman who inherits her late father’s Tennessee tavern - only to discover that her new co-owner is also the half-sister she never knew she had,” per NBC. “They couldn’t be more different, but they’ll navigate this new life together... because at Happy’s Place, everyone is family.” Linn plays Emmett, a short-order cook often known for his heartfelt advice. The cast of the sitcom also includes Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and Melissa Peterman, who also starred with McEntire on Reba. Julie Abbott and Kevin Abbott teamed up to create the comedy. McEntire and Linn have previously teased the relationship between their two characters in the upcoming second season.
McEntire said in an interview with iHeartCountry earlier this year that “it is very important to have heart in there,” when creating a successful sitcom. “You gotta laugh, but you gotta cry. You’ve got to hit all of those emotions.” The legendary country star and coach on The Voice said of her Happy’s Place cast, “we love each other. We respect each other’s opinion on things, their individual lifestyle, their background, their heritage. It’s a fun family.”
McEntire, 70, and Linn, 68, met while filming Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw in the early 90s. They reconnected while working on Young Sheldon in early 2020, and began dating around that time. They confirmed their engagement on the red carpet at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in September. McEntire revealed in an interview with PEOPLE, however, that they’ve been engaged for months.
“We got engaged December the 24th, Christmas Eve, in Leipers Fork [Tennessee, outside of Nashville],” McEntire said. “We were going to make the announcement when we got back to L.A. in January, and the fires happened. And it wasn’t appropriate. And so, our joy was like, ‘oh my gosh, these people are losing their homes.’ They’re taken out of their home. 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. It was his choice,” she continued. “We went to Africa last year, and he had planned — he took the ring, but nothing ever presented itself. …He’s very romantic. Very romantic. It was up to him, totally. Yeah. I had no idea. It was a total surprise. It was Rex Linn timing. I mean, I totally was thrilled to death. And I asked him, I said, ‘well, when do you want to do this?’ He said, ‘oh…let’s have fun with the engagement time.’ So, we haven’t set a date or anything. We’re just enjoying each other.”