Reba McEntire leaves The Voice – Here’s the truth behind her decision to step down

With The Voice season 26 about to come to a close and announce a new winner, a change is coming for the show that fans may be upset about.

Viewers of the NBC series are currently familiar with seeing Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé assisting the aspiring artists as the official coaches of season 26. But as it turns out, Michael is the only one of the quartet staying for season 27 in 2025, with Kelsea Ballerini making her coaching debut and John Legend and Adam Levine returning as mentors. But what does this mean for Reba, specifically?

Well, we hate to break the hearts of those who love the series, but Reba McEntire is leaving The Voice for season 27. Even though there’s always a chance for her to return for future seasons, there may be one major reason behind her choice to exit.

As some may be aware, Reba is currently starring in her own sitcom on NBC titled Happy’s Place. Currently airing its inaugural season, the singer reunited with Reba co-star Melissa Peterman for the project and is also working alongside her boyfriend Rex Linn on the series. Even though she didn’t explicitly say this was the reason behind her leaving The Voice, a report from Variety on November 21 did confirm a major update about what’s next with the sitcom.

According to the outlet, Happy’s Place got picked up for five more episodes by NBC, taking the total episode number from 13 to 18 in season 1. The publication also wrote that since its premiere on October 18, the show has managed to attract 14 million viewers across multiple platforms. What’s more, its Friday night regular time slot “has improved … by 90% among total viewers and 88% in the key adults 18-49 demographic.” This means, Reba will likely spend some time filming new episodes while awaiting a season 2 pickup from NBC.

For those wondering what Happy’s Place is about, Reba plays a woman who inherits her late father’s tavern (appropriately called Happy’s Place) and discovers she has a brand-new business partner — a much younger half-sister Isabella (played by Belissa Escobedo), whom she never knew about.

While we’re happy for Reba’s success with Happy’s Place, we’re definitely going to miss her. After all, Reba has appeared on and off The Voice since the show’s first season back in 2011. She initially was an advisor for original coach Blake Shelton in the season 1 Battle rounds and was also an advisor for the Knockout rounds in seasons 8 and 23.