Reba McEntire is opening up about taking the relationship dynamics with boyfriend Rex Linn to the screen.
The couple’s friendship spans decades; they met on the set of Kenny Rogers‘ film The Gambler in 1991 and kept in touch.
Fate reunited them in 2020 when Reba scored a guest appearance on Young Sheldon, where Rex portrays the principal of the high school that titular character Sheldon Cooper attends. When Rex found out Reba was going to be on the show, he jumped at the chance to reconnect.
“He texted me, he said, ‘Oh my gosh, let’s do dinner when you get through.’ So we did, and we’ve been together ever since,” Reba recalls.
Last year, Rex played her love interest in The Hammer, an upcoming movie on Lifetime, and now they’re starring together on Big Sky.
“We love working together because when we’re at home, we get to practice, rehearse and he’s a rehearsal schedule freak,” Reba describes. “He makes sure I know my lines before I ever go on stage.”
On season 3 of Big Sky, the country singer steps into the role of Sunny Barnes, the owner of Sunny Day Excursions. Rex plays her husband, Buck Barnes, and while he contributes a “strong” presence, Reba asserts that her character is the one calling the shots.
“Sunny runs the whole operation. Sunny is very dominating, she’s bossy, but she knows how to work Buck,” Reba explains, calling her character “very devious.” “There’s a lot of things Sunny has to do behind Buck’s back because she don’t want to have to explain herself and she don’t want to have to try to talk him into anything. She’ll get her way.”
Big Sky airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
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