Reba McEntire Admits She Was Terrified Of Merle Haggard, Why?

Reba McEntire/Credit: YouTube

Country superstar Reba McEntire admitted that she was once terrified of legendary singer Merle Haggard. Keep reading to find out why.

Reba McEntire Side-Eyes Boyfriend’s New Bestie

Reba McEntire has been dating actor Rex Linn since the old friends reconnected during the COVID pandemic in 2020. They first met in 1991 when co-starring in The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw with Kenny Rogers.

Reba and Rex spend a lot of time together and even sparked engagement rumors. He will appear on her upcoming NBC sitcom. He also regularly attends tapings of the NBC singing competition, The Voice.
Reba McEntire/Credit: The Voice YouTubeReba McEntire/Credit: The Voice YouTube
The country singer joined The Voice as a coach to replace Blake Shelton in Season 24. She previously appeared as a mentor. But after two seasons, Reba McEntire is leaving. Her departure comes at the end of Season 26, which is currently airing. OG coach Adam Levine returns for Season 27.

Reba McEntire took to Twitter to share a massive side-eye to boyfriend Rex Linn’s new bromance. The clip showed him deep in conversation with Season 26 coach Snoop Dogg. “No big deal. My boyfriend’s just talking to Snoop,” Reba joked, adding an epic eye roll.

Country Superstar Admits She Was Terrified Of Merle Haggard, Why?

Reba McEntire shared a moment of bonding with her fellow Season 26 coaches. Gwen Stefani, and newbies Michael Bublé round out the coaching team for this season. In a clip posted to The Voice‘s Instagram, Reba shares why she was terrified of Merle Haggard.

She opened for the iconic singer at the start of her career way back in 1981 when she was just 26. “I never wanted to meet my heroes, because I didn’t want them to disappoint me—ever,” she explained.

Reba added, “I was doing shows with Merle Haggard, and I did not want to meet him, because I didn’t want to be disappointed, because I’d looked up to him for so long. And when I did, he was the nicest, most cordial gentleman. And just… I was like ‘phew!’”

Merle Haggard wasn’t her only hero. She shared that some of her other favorites – Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn were “sweet as they could be” when she eventually got to meet them.

An entire new generation of up-and-coming singers probably feel the same way about meeting Reba McEntire.

Are you sad to see her leave The Voice after this season? Catch her on The Voice on NBC Monday nights. Starting October 1, the singing competition will air new episodes on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Her new sitcom, Happy’s Place, premieres on Friday, October 18.