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Who Is Lainey Wilson Dating? Meet the Country Singer’s Boyfriend Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges
Lainey Wilson might have a heart like a truck, but her boyfriend isn’t dragging it through the mud! The country singer and Yellowstone star debuted her man, Devlin “Duck” Hodges, at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023. However, they’ve been dating for much longer than that, and Lainey is slowly letting fans know more about their relationship.
Who Is Lainey Wilson’s Boyfriend Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges?
Football fans might recognize Devlin, as he was once a quarterback at Alabama’s Samford University and was later signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He then signed with the Ottawa Redblacks in September 2021, although the team announced Devlin’s retirement from professional football less than a year later, in April 2022. Today, Devlin sells real estate with Mossy Oak Properties in Louisiana.
In addition to football, Devlin is known for his duck calling skills. He won the 2018 Alabama State Duck Calling Championship. However, that’s not how he received the nickname “Duck.”
“His college football coach was like, ‘You’re one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever worked with. You remind me of one of my favorite quarterbacks I got to work with years ago and we called him Duck,’” Lainey shared. “And so the team just kind of started calling him Duck.”
When Did Lainey Wilson and Devlin Hodges Start Dating?
Though Lainey and Devlin only walked the red carpet together for the first time in 2023, they started dating around the beginning of 2021. In a June 2023 interview, Lainey revealed that she and Devlin had already been together for more than two years.
The musician told People she wanted to wait to introduce him to the world because she wanted to see if he was “in it for the right reasons.”
“Turns out, he is,” Lainey added.
Before their red carpet debut, Lainey sparked speculation that she was dating the former NFL star in April 2023 when she opened up for Luke Combs in Pittsburgh. When the country crooner and her bandmates took the stage, they were all wearing Devlin Hodges jerseys, even though he hadn’t played for the team since 2020.
In November 2023, Devlin joined Lainey on the red carpet at the CMA Awards, where they twinned in matching cowboy hats. The two looked madly in love as they stared into each other’s eyes.
How Did Lainey Wilson and Devlin Hodges Meet?
Lainey and Devlin met through mutual friends in Nashville and then went on their first date at “this old place called Silverados,” she told People.
“It had free beer and wine from 5 to 10 p.m.,” she said. “I was like, ‘This boy likes to ball on a budget too. This is gonna work out.’”
Now, Devlin is happy to support his girlfriend in her rising country music career. “Duck is the kind of dude who high-fives me on the way in the door and on the way out and says, ‘Go get it,’” she continued. “He knows how important this dream is to me.”
Devlin has even inspired Lainey’s music in new ways, as she said, “I was never really able to write love songs, because I don’t know if I had actually felt it, but I’m writing me some love songs now. I’m grateful for him.”
The former football player has also proven himself to be Lainey’s biggest fan. She often appears on his TikTok account. In one June 2023 video, he tagged along to one of his girlfriend’s photoshoots and was mesmerized by her beauty.
“Went to one of those photo shoot things with Lainey.. I’d go to another one Yeah I’m simping hard,” he captioned the clip.
Are Lainey Wilson and Devlin Hodges Still Together?
While the couple is known to be private on social media, the athlete gave his girlfriend a special shoutout on social media ahead of her attending the 2024 Grammys.
“Grammys Night!!!!” he captioned the post as he shared a photo of Lainey in February 2024. By April, the two stepped out for another award show evening, hitting the CMT Music Awards red carpet and looking smitten while doing so.
