Reba McEntire and Boyfriend Rex Linn Arrive to CMA Awards in Style, Complete With Face Shields

Reba McEntire and her new boyfriend Rex Linn have made their relationship red carpet official. Stepping out Wednesday night at the Music City Center in Nashville for the 54th Annual CMA Awards, the legendary country artist strutted the red carpet in coronavirus safety precaution-approved style with the 63-year-old CSI: Miami actor, marking the first time they have attended a major event since romance sparked.

Arriving at the venue just ahead of the event, which looked far different from years past due to the pandemic, McEntire and Linn posed together for photos along the red carpet. The “Does He Love You” songstress, who hosted the event alongside fellow country artist Darius Rucker, sported a flashing glittery dress, with Linn opting for blue tux jacket and black pants. Both ensured that they protected not only themselves, but also those around them, by accessorizing their ensembles with face shields.

The outing marked their red carpet debut as a couple, with McEntire having confirmed their relationship on her Living & Learning podcast in October when she told co-host Melissa Peterman, “Yeah, yeah, I am [dating].” She went on to reveal that the “very, very sweetheart of a guy” was Linn. At the time, McEntire also revealed that their romance sparked in part due to the ongoing pandemic, the couple having first went on a dinner date back in January before keeping in contact through coronavirus-related lockdowns.

“We’ve been talking during the pandemic. We had dinner with Rex, was it in January? . . . And then February on it was the COVID pandemic and we were talking, texting, FaceTime. And that’s a really good way to get to know people,” she said. “It’s good to have a person to talk to, laugh with, get into subjects about what’s going on. Discussions about our past, our family, funny stories, him being an actor, me being an actress.”

Their eight-month relationship is apparently going strong, too, because McEntire, known for songs like “Fancy” and “The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia,” couldn’t help but gush about Linn during an appearance on Good Morning America this week, where she happily declared, “I’m in love” and sharing that Linn makes her feel like “a giddy teenager again.”

McEntire was previously married for 26 years to manager Narvel Blackstock, with whom she has son Shelby Blackstock, 30. The former couple split in 2015. Prior to that, she had been married to Charlie Battles from 1976 to 1987. Linn, meanwhile, was previously engaged to Renee DeRese in 2010.