Reba McEntire Revealed Kenny Rogers Helped ‘Save Her Sanity’ After Devastating Plane Crash
After Reba McEntire lost several friends in a plane crash, there was a time she didn’t know how she would keep going. But she had the support of those around her, particularly in the country music business. And one of those helping hands belonged to Kenny Rogers, who McEntire still credits with “saving” her sanity after the tragedy.
Reba McEntire ‘didn’t know if she could continue’ after her friends died in a plane crash
In 1991, McEntire was devastated by a plane crash that killed 10 people, many of whom were in her band and music organization. More than 30 years later, she told People, “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue,” adding, “But it showed me how precious life is, and by the grace of God and my faith, I realized that they went on to a better place.”
She also shared what she learned from the world-shattering experience. “… You need to take it one day at a time and be very grateful for the things that you have,” she said. “Tell folks in your life how much you love and appreciate them.”
Reba McEntire said Kenny Rogers ‘saved’ her after the plane crash
According to McEntire, the country music industry, including Dolly Parton, rallied around her in full in the wake of that tragedy. And when she wasn’t sure if she could keep going, Rogers came to her with a suggestion that they work together. She starred alongside him in the TV movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw.
“Kenny saved my sanity in ’91 when he asked me to come do the Gambler movie,” she told Taste of Country. “I was still in a state of disbelief and not knowing what I’m gonna do moving forward after the plane crash.”
In Reba: My Story, she revealed that she was “wishing for something different to do” to get her mind off the plane crash. She thought Tremors would be her “first and last movie,” so when she got the offer to star with Rogers, she accepted.
She explained she “really needed a distraction and … knew it would be a lot of fun to work with” the country music legend. “I got to play a madam back at the turn of the century,” she shared. “It was a western, so I rode a horse and wore beautiful full dresses.”
How Kenny Rogers helped connect Reba McEntire and Rex Linn
McEntire married Narvel Blackstock not long before she worked with Rogers on The Gambler Returns, but the seeds that blossomed into another relationship were planted. She met her current boyfriend, Rex Linn, who played a small part in the movie.
They remained friends in sporadic contact through the years. After McEntire and Blackstock divorced, she and Linn reconnected while working on Young Sheldon and started communicating daily. They fell in love while isolated in different states in 2020, and she told People they are “pretty much inseparable now.”
