Reba McEntire thought she was going to win the Hillbilly Chili Cookoff. After all, her boyfriend Rex Linn was one of the judges. However, she ended up placing last instead.
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Speaking with CBS (via Taste of Country), the fan-favorite judge on The Voice revealed that her chili wasn’t spicy enough for the judges. It was disappointing for McEntire who believed she was going to light up the judges with her chili recipe.
“Well, for some reason, I guess I left out all the spices,” McEntire said. “But man, I was dumping chili powder and hatch green chilis in there. And I thought, ‘Man, this is gonna do it.’ It was from a Texas recipe. I was so excited.”
Not even being Linn’s girlfriend saved McEntire from being last place. However, Linn did choose a hilarious way to let her know that she didn’t win. Linn ended up whispering the news into McEntire’s ear that she lost.
“Well, Rex was one of the judges, and he came and whispered it in my ear. He said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ [I said], ‘Are you gonna tell me who won?’ [He said,] ‘Well, it’s not you.’ So he handed me the trophy, and it was a chili pepper in the toilet. And so mine took a dump,” McEntire continued.
Reba McEntire and Rex Linn
McEntire and Linn first met in 1991. Both were filming the Kenny Rogers movie The Gambler Returns. However, it would be nearly 20 years before the two finally got together. Both McEntire and Linn started dating in 2020 after reconnecting.
“I asked Rex one time, I said, ‘I wonder why we didn’t get together earlier.’ He said, ‘Well, one thing, you were married before,'” McEntire explained. “He’s a lot of fun, lot of energy. I’ve kinda mellowed. He’s kinda calmed down. So I think we’ve met at the right time.”
McEntire said that Linn is one of her biggest supporters, always encouraging her to follow through on her dreams.
“He’s my biggest cheerleader,” she said to Good House Keeping. “He’s encouraged me the whole time and he even gives me ideas to make things better. His enthusiasm really does pep all of us up, and I appreciate him very much.”
However, when it comes to chili, Linn’s hands are tied. Maybe, he and McEntire can hit the kitchen and improve on her recipe.
[Photo by Terry Wyatt/WireImage]
