Reba McEntire and Rex Linn were engaged for several months before confirming it on the red carpet at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards last month.

McEntire, 70, gushed that she’s “happier now than I've ever been in my life,” in a new interview with PEOPLE for the publication’s cover story. She confirmed in the story, which published online on Tuesday (October 21) and will be available on stands on Friday (October 24), that Linn proposed to her last December. She told PEOPLE with a smile: “I've never been loved by a man like Rex Linn. Rex is a very tender-hearted man, and I just love him with all my heart. He's a good guy. Real bashful though.”

McEntire and Linn met in the early 1990s, filming Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw. Linn asked McEntire on a date when the couple reconnected on the set of Young Sheldon in early 2020. McEntire said during a previous appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show that after going to dinner, she and Linn “went down the street to a wine bar and they said, ‘well, I understand you’ve already had dinner, but we do have some good appetizers…we have tater tots.’” Linn decided in that moment that McEntire’s nickname would be “tater tot,” and McEntire decided to name Linn “sugar tot” in return. They’ve “been together ever since.”

Now, the pair work together on the set of Happy’s Place (and hinted at a budding romance between their two characters in the upcoming season). The Julie Abbott- and Kevin Abbott-created comedy also reunites McEntire with Reba cast mate Melissa Peterman, plus Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco and Tokala Black Elk. Other former Reba stars who have made guest appearances in the first season include Christopher Rich and Steve Howey, and JoAnna Garcia Swisher, who played McEntire’s daughter on the early 2000s family series, will appear on the second season of Happy’s Place. The series stars McEntire as Bobbie, “a tough but lovable woman who inherits her late father’s Tennessee tavern - only to discover that her new co-owner is also the half-sister she never knew she had,” per NBC. “They couldn’t be more different, but they’ll navigate this new life together... because at Happy’s Place, everyone is family.”

McEntire said in an interview with iHeartCountry earlier this year that “it is very important to have heart in there,” when creating a successful sitcom. “You gotta laugh, but you gotta cry. You’ve got to hit all of those emotions.” The legendary country star and coach on The Voice said of her Happy’s Place cast, “we love each other. We respect each other’s opinion on things, their individual lifestyle, their background, their heritage. It’s a fun family.”

“Getting to work with Rex, drive to work with Rex and do the show, the rehearsals, drive home, talk about it, rehearse together — that’s what’s really special for me,” McEntire told PEOPLE. “I’ve not had that before. …I love this chapter in my life. I'm very grateful.”

The second season of Happy’s Place will premiere on November 7.

Bob Delmont