The country star paid a poignant post on social media

Reba McEntire has mourned the loss of her close friend, popular actor Ed Asner, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 91.

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Taking to Instagram, the country singer shared a lovely photo of the pair of them together, alongside the caption: "Magic moments getting to film the 'Somebody's Chelsea' music video with the one and only Ed Asner. Rest in peace, my friend."

Fans were quick to comment on Reba's post, with one writing: "He is a great man, we all miss him," while another wrote: "He's going to be a tough one to follow." A third added: "What a sad loss."

VIDEO: Reba McEntire reveals how she met her boyfriend Rex Linn

Ed passed away "peacefully" on Sunday morning, his family said, and was best known for playing fictional TV newsman Lou Grant, who was first introduced as Mary Richard's boss on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s. He also voiced the lead in the Pixar film Up.

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Reba's sad post follows on from the recent news that she tested positive for Covid, despite being vaccinated.

Reba McEntire paid a heartfelt tribute to her late friend, actor Ed Asner

The singer had announced her surprising health news on TikTok earlier in the month, and urged her fans to stay safe. "Stay home. Just stay safe. Stay healthy. It's not fun to get this. I did get it. Rex and I got it and it's not fun. You don't feel good," she said.

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The star along with her boyfriend Rex Linn were both vaccinated but she reminded fans that they needed to "be protected the best you can" and to "wear your mask".

The singer then went on to reveal that she did not know how the ongoing pandemic would affect her plans for the coming year, acknowledging "the COVID thing has really hit hard and spikes are going everywhere right now, and it's all over the country so we don't have an idea."

The country star recently recovered from Covid-19

She added: "We have plans right now to go back on tour in January, February, and March. We're just gonna move forward, keep praying that everybody stays safe and healthy, and wear your mask and just be safe."

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The 66-year-old began dating actor Rex in early 2020, having their first date in January.

Reba and boyfriend Rex Linn

But when the pandemic hit they moved their romance virtually, and she previously revealed that it had been "good to have a person to talk to, laugh with, get into subjects about what's going on, discussions about our past, our family, funny stories, him being an actor, me being an actress. And he's very into my music. I'm very into his career".

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