Reba McEntire Shared How Her Boyfriend Helped Her Prepare for the Super Bowl
In 2024, Reba McEntire will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LVIII. She is one of three artists who will perform ahead of the game and Usher’s halftime show performance. To prepare for the big moment, McEntire has been practicing whenever she can. She shared how her boyfriend, Rex Linn, helped her prepare for her performance.
Reba McEntire said her boyfriend helped her prepare for the Super Bowl
On Feb. 11, 2024, McEntire will perform the national anthem at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. To prepare, she’s been singing the song around Linn, who is a “huge football fan” (per People).
“I’ve been singing the national anthem in the shower [and] when we get in the car,” McEntire said in an interview with Apple Music.
When she practices the song, Linn encourages her to sing it on repeat.
“He’ll say, ‘OK, sing it one more time,’” McEntire said. “I said, ‘I think I know the words real good right now, so I’m alright.’”
Reba McEntire hopes to bring patriotism to the Super Bowl
McEntire hopes that when she sings the national anthem at Allegiant Stadium, the fans will join in with her.
“If I know they’re singing along, and they’re remembering and having fun too, that’s easier on me, but just to be prepared when you walk out there,” she said.
She hopes that by singing the national anthem, she will help bring patriotism to the Super Bowl.
“Oh, I’m so excited. You know, it’s not about me,” she told People. “It’s about everybody who has worked so hard to get to the Super Bowl, and my job is to bring the patriotism.”
While she will be singing at football’s biggest night, she wants her song to reach all Americans.
“I’m going to be singing for not only the people who are going to be performing and playing on the field that day, but it’s for everybody who has worked so hard to ensure our freedom and try to have as much peace on earth as we can,” she said. “It’s not about me. I’m just the conduit and the water hose who gets to sing the song.”
She called Rex Linn the love of her life
McEntire trusts Linn to help her prepare for her Super Bowl performance because she considers him the love of her life. They initially met in the 1990s on the set of the movie The Gambler and became a couple after reconnecting in 2020.
“He’s the love of my life,” she said. “We’re pretty much inseparable.”
She shared how they make their relationship work.
“The little things mean so much to me,” she said. “It’s also important to be attentive and listen to your partner’s stories, even if you’ve heard them 100 times. I’ll watch couples who have very successful marriages, and that woman will sit there and listen and smile at her husband’s stories, and I’m like, ‘How many times has she heard that?’ I learned a lot from that.”
