Reba McEntire and Boyfriend Rex Linn Make Public Debut at 2020 CMA Awards [PICTURES]

Reba McEntire and her new boyfriend, Rex Linn, made their public debut at the 2020 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 11). The two walked the red carpet together ahead of the event, and Linn sat in the audience as his girlfriend co-hosted the annual awards show with Darius Rucker.

Linn, an actor well known for his work on CSI: Miami, among other projects, donned a dark shirt and pants and a vibrant blue suitjacket for the 2020 CMA Awards -- a look that, coincidentally, coordinated nicely with the step-and-repeat background used for arrivals:

Linn also got a shoutout during McEntire and Rucker's CMA Awards-opening monologue: She took a moment to fawn over him before warning, "Always stay six feet away from Carrie Underwood ... That's not social distancing, those are Reba rules."

Linn, 63, is a Spearman, Texas, native, though his family moved to Oklahoma City, Okla., when he was a teenager. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1980 and worked for an oil company while beginning his acting career. His first bigger part came in 1989's Night Game, and he had guest roles on JAG and The Fugitive before landing his role as Sgt. Frank Tripp on CSI: Miami in 2002.

Linn also plays Kevin Wachtell on Better Call Saul and Principal Petersen on Young Sheldon, a show on which McEntire guest-starred earlier this year. The pair's paths crossed in 2019, too, when Linn emceed the Western Heritage Awards, during which McEntire's father, world champion steer roper Clark McEntire, was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners.

McEntire shared the news of her relationship with the former CSI: Miami star in early October, though she has not revealed how long they've been together. Ahead of the 2020 CMA Awards, the country star admitted that she was "in love" with Linn, and feels "giddy like a teenager again" when he's around. Her new relationship status is influencing her next album, too: She's looking for love songs.

McEntire was previously married to her former manager, Narvel Blackstock, from 1989 until 2015. In 2017, she revealed that she was dating Anthony "Skeeter" Lasuzzo, a photographer whom she met through her friend Kix Brooks. The pair had split up as of late 2019, however.