REBA’S SECRET ENGAGEMENT REVEALED! | Country icon Reba McEntire has finally shared the emotional story behind Rex Linn’s Christmas Eve proposal — and the real reason they kept it hidden for 9 months will melt your heart ❤️

The truth only slipped out by accident at the Emmys… and fans can’t stop talking about what really happened that night

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McEntire accidentally revealed she was engaged to Linn — who she began dating in 2020 — at the Emmys in September

NEED TO KNOW

Reba McEntire shares new details about Rex Linn’s proposal in this week’s PEOPLE cover story
The country singer and actress reveals that Linn proposed in December — but they held off on announcing it due to this reason
McEntire accidentally announced they were engaged on the red carpet at the 2025 Emmys in September

When Reba McEntire and Rex Linn got engaged in December of last year, they planned to make the big announcement in January. Then, their plans came to a screeching halt.

“We got engaged December the 24th, Christmas Eve at Leiper’s Fork [in Tennessee],” McEntire, 70, reveals to PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

“So we got engaged then, we were going to make the announcement when we got back to L.A. in January, and the fires happened. It wasn’t appropriate,” she continues, adding that “the time never presented itself until the Emmys when it just happened.”

The Voice coach says it was a “total surprise” and on “Rex Linn timing” — but “very romantic.” Now, the couple is in no rush to the altar.

Rex Linn and Reba McEntire during NBCUniversal Summer Press Tour on July 14, 2024 in Pasadena, California.Todd Williamson/NBCUniversal via Getty

“I totally was thrilled to death. I asked him, ‘Well, when do you want to do this?’ He said, ‘Let’s have fun with the engagement time.’ So we haven’t set a date or anything. We’re just enjoying each other,” the actress says of her Happy’s Place co-star.

McEntire and Linn, 68, first met in 1991 but didn’t start dating until 2020. In October 2021, McEntire opened up to Today about the early days of their relationship.

“In 2020, when Mama got sick, he called me,” she told the outlet. “We’d gotten to see each other before because we’re both on Young Sheldon. So starting in March of 2020, we just kept talking and visiting and finally got together, see each other in June.”

Reba McEntire on Oct. 7.John Russo

“And we’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since,” she added.

The costars are even inseparable on the set of their NBC sitcom. “On the set we’ll belly up to the bar and have our breakfast,” she tells PEOPLE. “He is so funny. Whatever I have, he’ll have. So if I have my oatmeal, he’ll have oatmeal. And then I always have to have a donut hole because I’ve got a sweet tooth.”

Reflecting on what makes their relationship special, McEntire says “he loves to hug and he tells me he loves me an awful lot.”

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

For more on McEntire, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, available on newsstands everywhere Friday.

Reba McEntire for PEOPLE.John Russo

When asked if she had any advice for someone going through heartbreak, McEntire — who was married to Narvel Blackstock for 26 years before their divorce in 2015 — says to “never give up.”

“If you’re in heartbreak right now, just take care of yourself, take care of your heart, and then be open with it,” the singer says. “I was not looking for love at all. So it just happened at the right time, right place. God’s timing is everything.”

Happy’s Place season 2 premieres Friday, Nov. 7, on NBC and will stream the next day on Peacock. The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.