Reba McEntire is one of many people who has experienced a deeply difficult 2020.
Many think celebrity hardships don't hurt as much because of influence and money. Raw human emotion can't be padded by those things, however. Losing a parent is a painful experience, one that rocked Reba at the beginning of this year.
Reba's mother, Jacqueline, died of cancer at 93 years old on March 14. The loss came just as the United States began shutdowns due to the health crisis. Jacqueline wasn't able to be laid to rest until weeks after her death, in a private memorial service.
Not all of 2020 has been a struggle for Reba, however. She has also been enjoying being in love. She began dating actor Rex Linn, whom she met on the set of Young Sheldon, in January. They kept in touch virtually throughout the year as things unfolded. She's even opened up about dating on her podcast, Living & Learning.
Many people have experienced some serious emotional extremes in 2020. Reba McEntire is one of them. Reba's year began with her mother's illness. Jacqueline battled cancer with loved ones by her side.
Jacqueline died on March 14 at 93 years old. Her death came as stay-at-home orders began around the US, so Reba had to quarantine with her sister and brother-in-law, Susie and Mark, for weeks. She told Today that the time was a blessing.
"It was a true blessing … It really was," she said.
"I got to stay there at Momma's house and help … clean everything out," she explained.
"We had so many great times, going through drawers and boxes, and found pictures we'd never seen before, and we cried, we laughed, we toasted Momma. It was just an absolute, huge blessing to get to do that."
"We've been going so fast, so furious for so long. I am so thankful for this quarantine time," Reba later noted.
"My heart goes out to the folks who have been ill, who have lost loved ones, but it has been wonderful for me. To get to be with my little sister the way we were for the last two months is priceless. I've loved it, every minute of it."
Reba imagines her parents are now reunited. Her father, Clark McEntire, died in 2014. She also leans into her faith and encourages others who are struggling to do the same.
"They can always turn to God, have their faith really step up and take control, and believe that there's going to be a better day," she said.
"When you can, take this time to stop, smell the roses and just reconfirm why you're here, and just take time for your family, your friends."
Reba is looking forward to when things are a little closer to normal and she'll be able to celebrated her Momma in a bigger way.
"Momma was a show dog," Reba said during a conversation with her Country Music Association Awards cohost, Darius Rucker, for ABC's Country Strong 2020: Countdown to the CMA Awards.
"She liked the whole court and she liked to have an audience, so we're going to give her that one of these days. I don't know when it's gonna be, but it's gonna be good and something that she deserves."
During her time at home, Reba quietly began dating again. She and actor Rex Linn first met on the set of Young Sheldon. They went on their first date back in January, as she revealed on her podcast, Living & Learning.
"Getting back in the dating world for me is fun and exciting," she said.
She explained that she and Rex kept in touch virtually throughout the past few months. She said it's been "a lot of fun."
"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. And he's very into my music. I'm very into his career," she continued.
"It's just great getting to talk to somebody who I find very interesting, very funny, very smart, and is interested in me, too."
Reba also opened up about how her new relationship is influencing her upcoming album.
"I'm in love, so that really inspires me to find love songs, to find happy songs," she said.
"I've always been the queen of waltzes, the queen of sad songs because I just gravitate to those kinds of songs."
Reba says that whatever the future holds for her and Rex, she's fine just living in the present.
"We're having a blast and still getting to know each other. I put myself in his shows and if he was doing this podcast [about dating] and he didn't mention me, I would be crushed," she said.
"Whatever happens in the future, we're very stable and it's been a good six months and I look forward to having more things to look forward to."
