Reba McEntire Reflects On Year Of Loss And Love

Reba McEntire is reflecting on the ups and downs of 2020.

The country icon's year stared with the death of her mother, Jacqueline McEntire, at the age of 93 on March 14. This was right around the time that COVID-19 sent the United States into lockdown, which made the situation even more difficult.

"I think the thing that grounded me the most was my momma getting sick and leaving all of this -- all of the big dreams and the plans -- to go take care of her," McEntire said while talking to her CMA Awards co-host Darius Rucker according to Good Morning America.

McEntire went on to share some of the last few moments she spend with her mom, recalling her "crawling up in bed with her at night and crying" while she wondered how she could possibly move forward in life without her.

Initially the singer postponed her mother's funeral due to the pandemic, but ultimately was able to "say goodbye" at a private memorial service several weeks later. McEntire still plans to have another celebration of her mother's life whenever things eventually get back to normal.

"Momma was a show dog," she said with a laugh. "She liked the whole court and she liked to have an audience, so we're going to give her that one of these days. I don't know when it's gonna be, but it's gonna be good and something that she deserves."

Just several days ago, McEntire turned to Instagram to tribute her late mother on her birthday. "Today is Mama’s birthday," she wrote. "She’s celebrating this one in heaven with daddy, her mama and daddy, her brother and sister and many many more people she loves so much. Mama we miss you very much! Give Daddy a hug for me."

While McEntire has had to overcome several challenges this year, she's also been falling in love. The singer discussed her relationship with her new boyfriend, Rex Linn, on her podcast recently, opening up about how he has influenced her upcoming album.

"I'm in love, so that really inspires me to find love songs, to find happy songs," McEntire said. "I've always been the queen of waltzes, the queen of sad songs, because I just gravitate to those kinds of songs."

She added, "Music has always been therapy for me. It's very healing."

McEntire and Rucker are set to host the upcoming CMA Awards on Wednesday, November 11. The show will broadcast live from Nashville's Music City Center at 8PM ET on ABC. A complete list of nominees can be seen here.

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