Sorry, guys. Lainey Wilson is off the market. Last month, the country music superstar revealed she has a boyfriend while walking the red carpet at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards. And, it seems the two are getting quite serious.
Red Carpet Debut At 2023 ACM Awards
Lainey Wilson brought along a date during the big event, held in Frisco, Texas. She turned heads in a green silk jumpsuit, but drew even more curiosity over the man who stole her heart.
“Yup, yup. I brought me a hot date tonight,” Wilson confirmed while speaking to ET Online. “…sure did [and] I mean, he’s looking like a snack over there, ain’t he? [and] I said, ‘You know what, you can be my date, but you can’t steal my thunder.’”
Who Is Devlin “Duck” Hodges?
So who is this lucky guy?
He is former NFL quarterback Devlin Hodges. The 27-year-old athlete goes by the nickname, “Duck.” Though he didn’t grow up in Louisiana like his country-singing girlfriend, Hodges is from the South. He was born and raised in Alabama and loves to duck hunt.
Hodges has some impressive career stats. He holds the NCAA FCS career record for passing yards at Samford College with 14, 584 — a record previously held by Steve McNair. In 2019, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing eight games as a rookie. He also has played on the Los Angeles Rams and the Canadian team, the Ottawa Redblacks.
Before bringing Hodges to the awards ceremony, Lainey Wilson, 30, had maintained a pretty quiet personal life, not telling anyone outside her circle who she was romantically involved with. But all that changed when she sat down for a chat on The Bobby Bones Show.
“Two And A Half Years”
Speaking with show host Bobby Bones, Wilson admitted that Hodges has “been around for a while.”
“I just decided to make him wait for two and a half years. He’s a good dude. He knows what it’s like chasing a dream. He’s done that for himself. He was in the NFL. He tried out, literally, for the Steelers, and made it and had a really great run with them. I’ll tell ya, he is good as gold,” she gushed. “He supports me. He would never come in between anything that I’m trying to do. He’s like, ‘Go get it, girl.’”
And it turns out that Wilson is already setting her sights on the future. She recently opened up on whether or not she plans to tie the knot one day.
“I can definitely see myself getting married,” she told Audacy’s Rob + Holly. “It will take a very special person to be OK with this lifestyle. Right now, music is my baby and my priority. I’ve worked really hard to be here, and they would have to be OK with that.”
“I Plan On Having Kids… I Plan On Being Married…”
She added, “I plan on having kids. I plan on being married, but I will say, I like what Dolly [Parton] has done, keeping some of her business to herself. She said something about that one time. She said, ‘The reason I keep my husband private is because I felt like I needed to keep something for myself. I share a lot of my life and world with everybody, and I think it’s OK to keep something for yourself.’”
There is no knowing, at this point, whether or not Hodges is actually “the one,” but it’s no doubt Wilson is smitten with her boyfriend. And his support is just what she needs right now as she is busier than ever.
The hitmaker, who recently nabbed four ACM awards, is currently on the road as a supporting act for Luke Combs’ 2023 World Tour, which wraps on October 19. Along with a string of scheduled shows, she has been tapped to co–host CMA Fest on ABC alongside Dierks Bentley and Elle King.
The highly-anticipated three-hour primetime concert special airs on Wednesday (July 19) at 8/7c on ABC.
