Reba McEntire Is ‘Struggling’ to ‘Accept’ Dolly Parton’s Death, Wishes ‘They’d Had More Time Together’

Reba McEntire‘s fiancé Rex Linn is doing everything he can to calm the country singer’s shattered spirits in the wake of longtime pal Dolly Parton‘s death, a source tells Examiner.

“Dolly was always so larger than life that it’s very hard for Reba to accept that she’s gone, and she’s really struggling to come to terms with the loss,” says the source. “Like most people do when someone passes, she’s looking back and wishing they’d had more time together.”

As Examiner previously reported, the “Fancy” singer, 71, had a lot on her plate before Parton, 80, passed away on Tuesday, August 25, following a brief battle with cancer.

“Obviously, they both had insanely demanding schedules, so it wasn’t a situation of Reba dropping the ball, but the regrets still creep in,” admits the source. “Everyone is telling her that Dolly knew very well how much Reba loved her and that she’d never want her to beat herself up, but that’s easier said than done.”

McEntire took to Instagram the day of Parton’s death.

“I’ll never forget the first time I met you and I’ll never forget our last conversation,” she captioned a series of photos of the pair from over the years.

“Reba is usually the person everyone else can lean on when things get tough, so seeing her this heartbroken has been incredibly difficult for everyone,” says the source, especially for Linn, 69, “because he can’t really do much to help.”

Amid her grief, McEntire is “making sure Dolly’s family knows she’s ready and able to do anything they might need, and she’s vowing to stay strong because it’s what Dolly would have wanted,” the source adds. “But boy is it tough.”