Reba McEntire And Rex Linn have a modern love story that started on the phone. While the “The little ones” Originally, they were a long-distance couple who relied on texting and frequent calls. Today they are not far from each other and work closely together on NBC’s new sitcom Happy’s Place. Still it seems The voice Coach nostalgically remembers the beginnings of their relationship.

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McEntire and Linn first met over 30 years ago on the set of The Player Returns: The Luck of the Draw, And reconnected in January 2020 when McEntire was a guest star Young Sheldon. But due to the pandemic, McEntire said E! News that when they started dating, they couldn’t see each other in person for several months and developed a special bond over the phone.

“Through texting and phone conversations, we created an intimacy that we wouldn’t have had if we had been together all the time,” she said. “So it was really special and a great way to get to know each other without ever touching.”

Reba McEntire’s phone contact name for her boyfriend Rex Linn

McEntire said TODAY In 2023, they called and texted each other every day and also revealed the very specific name she saved Rex under in her phone: “Rex Linn, Long Distance Friend.”

“I haven’t changed it since 2020,” McEntire revealed.

That’s right, although McEntire affectionately calls her Linn.Sugar Dead” and he calls her “Tater Tot,” his contact name in her phone remains unchanged.

Since becoming a couple in 2020, McEntire and Linn have certainly learned a lot from each other. For example, Linn revealed NBC Insider that McEntire will never run out of her favorite condiment. “You won’t believe it. She puts ketchup on everything. It just drives me crazy. Everything,” he said. “She puts ketchup on ice cream. There are 17 bottles of ketchup in this fridge.”

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Funnily enough, McEntire gushed about her love for ketchup The Drew Barrymore Show in May 2024. “I love ketchup on everything,” she said before eating a Tater Tot. Just like McEntire’s contact names in her phone, some things never change.

Of course, McEntire often raves about Linn. In conversation with Us weekly In October 2024, the “I’m a Survivor” singer said Linn was the “love of my life.”

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“I think we made each other better,” she added. “Rex brings out the little girl in me and I have fun. I’m stupid, I’m silly. He is too. We love to laugh and we love each other.”

You can watch The Tots deliver laughs Happy’s Place Fridays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock