All about the relationship between Leva Mantery and Rex Lynn

Reba McEntire and Rex Linn are involved!

The couple subtly checked the news as they smiled and nodded! The news reporter was called his fiance on the 2025 Emmy Awards red carpet in September 2025.

Leva and Rex met for the first time while appearing in Kenny Rogers’ films in the early 1990s, but their friendship didn’t become romantic until 2020.

“Rex and I will get along in all respects,” the country star told Fox News Digital in May 2025.

The “Rumor has It” singer called his relationship with Rex “Perfect Union” and said, “We’re getting along right now. We’re arguing now.

From their red carpet debut to their engagement, there’s everything you need to know about Reba McEntire and Rex Linn’s relationship.

Reba and Rex met on the set of the Kenny Rogers movie

Reba and Rex first met in 1991 on the set of Kenny Rogers’s TV film, The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Drauk.

“We’ve been in touch for many years, and we both know the same people,” Reba revealed in November 2020 during a performance on Wath What Hass Happens, who is performing with Andy Cohen. “So it was like a good friend going back and having dinner together.”

“We then started texting and talking on the phone and getting to know each other better during quarantine,” she continued.

They started dating in January 2020

In an October 2020 episode of her podcast, Living & Learning, Reba reveals that she is dating Rex, calling him a “very, very sweet guy.”

They went out for dinner early that year in January 2020, then approached when they spoke, texted, and started facetiming during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s good to have people talk about what’s going on, laugh, get into the subject,” Leba shared. “It’s great to talk to people who are very interesting, very interesting, very smart and think that interests me too.”

During the quarantine in March 2020, they launched a “coffee camp.” This is the daily phone call they catch up.

“It was a very special relationship. We got to know each other without any physical aspects,” Reba told Rex in October 2021 about Living & Learning.

Rex said, “I was in California. She was in Tennessee. Sometimes my ‘coffee camp’ started at 3am, but I’ve never missed it. I don’t want to miss it. ”

Reba and Rex made their red carpet debut in November 2020

When Reba co-hosted the CMA Awards with Darius Rucker in November 2020, she brought in a special date: Rex. The event celebrated the couple’s red carpet debut.

“I’m excited to see him with me,” Reba told people before the awards ceremony.

Since their CMA Awards debuted, the couple has joined together on multiple red carpets and events. When they appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show in October 2024, they were even able to keep it cute while wearing their clothes as a creepy Beetlejuice character.

They acted together

The pair first met while appearing in 1990s TV films, but have shared screens multiple times in recent years.

Reba and Rex reconnected on the set of young Sheldon, then proceeded to Costar in their lifelong original film, The Hammer. In 2022, they played married couple Buck and Sunny Burns in the third season of ABC’s Big Sky.

The two are currently working together on Reba’s latest sitcom, Happy’s Place. The series follows Bobby (Leba), who inherits his father’s bar after his death. Rex plays Emmett, the restaurant’s short-term chef.

“We’re constantly running the line,” Rex told people about his work with Reba. “But sometimes I secretly kiss them, just grab my cheek and just keep moving. It’s fun.”

They have sweet nicknames for each other

Rex calls Reba “Tater Tot.” This is the name of the pet who started their first dinner after they met again.

“There was Tater Tots on the menu. I love Tater Tots so I was just hooked. Rex is famous for giving people nicknames. He said, ‘It’s yours.'”

“My nickname is legendary. They stick to people, but I never plan them,” explained Rex. “They have to present themselves all the time. It was the perfect moment.”

Leva is “Tator Tot” and Lex is “Sugar Tot.” This is the nickname originally proposed by Reba’s younger sister Susie.

“When we were in quarantine, I was in Oklahoma, where I was in the place of my house, and Rex called me Tater Tott, and while the singer was co-hosting with Hoda and Jenna in April 2023.

Reba and Rex have been “almost inseparable” since they first started dating.

Leba and Lex have known each other since the early 90s, but they reconnected after the death of Leba’s mother, Jacqueline.

“In 2020 when Mom got sick, he called me,” she said today in October 2021.

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

They confirmed their involvement in 2025 Emmy

While chatting with E! News about the red carpet at the 2025 Emmy Awards in September, the couple didn’t modify the reporter who called Rex Reba’s fiancé. Instead, they simply smiled and nodded.

“It happened a few months ago, but they’re very happy,” the source later told people about Reba and Rex’s engagement.