Rex Linn had it all mapped out. A trip to Africa in 2024, a ring in his pocket, and a specific moment in mind to ask Reba McEntire to marry him. What he didn't account for was a guide named Mumps and some very inconvenient wildlife.
Linn and McEntire had known each other for over a decade before their romance took off in 2020, but once it did, there was no slowing down. They've built a life together both on and off screen—working together on NBC's Happy Place while McEntire continues her music career and coaching role on The Voice. When they sat down with Drew Barrymore recently to talk about living fully, Linn shared the story of how his carefully planned proposal almost went sideways.
The Leopard Problem
While driving through Africa, Linn spotted what seemed like the perfect spot: a meadow next to a body of water, serene and intimate. He turned to their guide and said he was thinking about proposing to McEntire right there. Mumps listened, then delivered the reality check.
We're a new kind of news feed.
Regular news is designed to drain you. We're a non-profit built to restore you. Every story we publish is scored for impact, progress, and hope.
Start Your News Detox"That's an evening migratory walkway for male leopards," the guide told him. "It wouldn't be a good time."
Linn laughed it off on the show, admitting he decided to "just back off that one." No amount of romantic ambition was worth interrupting a leopard's evening routine.
So instead, he pivoted. On Christmas Eve, without the wildlife complications, Linn proposed to McEntire—and it was perfect. Sometimes the best plans aren't the ones you spend weeks arranging. Sometimes they're the ones that adapt when reality steps in, leopards and all.
