Reba McEntire confirmed that absence does make the heart grow fonder.
In an interview with E! News, she opened up about her relationship with actor Rex Linn.
The couple first met in 1991, but were just friends until 2020, when McEntire guest starred on his show "Young Sheldon."
"It was just like a magnet," she told the outlet.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McEntire and Linn weren’t able to be physically together, instead building their relationship through talking.
"We didn't get to see each other from January till June 16, but we created an intimacy by texting and talking over the telephone that we wouldn't have gotten if we'd have been together all of that time. It was very special. It was a great way to find out about each other without ever touching."
"We've been pretty much inseparable ever since June 16 of 2020," the 69-year-old added.
McEntire felt the time apart made their relationship solid from the start.
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"You know the ins and outs of their personality and their faults… You love them for the way they are, instead of it being a total attraction and sizing them up because of appearance," she explained to E!, adding that people tend to "gravitate to the physical so quickly."
Last month, during an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," McEntire described the dinner that kicked off their romance, saying "I just couldn't get close enough to him."
"I don't know why. We had talked and communicated throughout the years, had a mutual friend, Ed Gaylord, and we stayed in contact. But for some reason, that night was just so special," she told Barrymore.
She revealed she asked Linn why they didn’t start dating sooner, explaining he had responded by saying, "Probably because you would have killed me."
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McEntire didn't disagree with his assumption, saying, "He's a wild man. He's a 12-year-old."
Despite their deep bond, the "Fancy" singer revealed it would be to Linn if they were to tie the knot.
Last year on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," a fan asked if she and Linn, nicknamed "Sugar Tot," would get married, and she said, "That would be up to him."
"I've been married twice, he's never been married, so if he wants to, that's totally up to him," she continued.
Cohen asked McEntire if it was a "head scratcher" that Linn had never married, and she replied, "Yeah, well, kind of," adding they had "talked it out."
