Lainey Wilson’s Fiancé, Duck Hodges, Says Her Career Took Off Right As His In The NFL Ended: “We Really Could Lean On Each Other”

Such a cute couple.

Lainey Wilson got her now-fiancé Devlin “Duck” Hodges, and she shared some gorgeous photos of the day on Instagram when it happened back in February:

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A post shared by Lainey Wilson (@laineywilson)

Duck was a four-year starter at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama before being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Steelers in 2019. He was named the starter during the 2019 season when Mason Rudolph went down with an injury, going 3-3 as a starting quarterback before being waived by the Steelers and signed to the practice squad prior to the 2020 season.

They dated for about four years  before getting engaged, and during a party celebrating her radio hit “4X4XU” not too long ago, Lainey shared details about the proposal that happened at the stunning George Jones estate the week after the Super Bowl. Lainey had a suspicion Duck was up to something, and her intuition proved to be accurate:

“So I had talked to myself into thinking he was gonna do it that day, and then I called my sister, I said, ‘I think he’s gonna propose to me today.’ And she was like she was like, ‘I gotta go.’ And then I talked myself out of it, cause I thought, man, I sure would be upset if I talked myself into this and it don’t happen.

But we have been wanting to go see the George Jones estate for quite some time, and his buddy had it listed for sale, and we were at the Super Bowl the weekend before, and he was like ‘Hey, we need to go next week to go see the George Jones estate. That way we can just say we’ve been at the George Jones estate.’

And then as we pull up, I realize that there were different plans. So he had it all set up, he had the candles and the picture frames, and it could not have been more perfect.”

While they haven’t started planning the wedding yet, as Lainey’s already busy on the road with her Whirlwind tour, she says it will be very “simple,” and she also spilled about the gorgeous rock, which she said Duck designed after putting together photos of huge rings she’d kind of sent him as a joke throughout their relationship.

They’ve been together for over four years now, so it was a long time coming, and during an appearance on the Christian Kuntz Podcast this week, Duck opened up about how they helped each other through huge life changes when they first started dating, as he was coming out of the NFL and his professional football career was coming to an end, and Lainey’s music career was starting to really take off.

He says he was able to help her with some of the leadership aspect of being a huge artist and running a team of people, and she was there for him as he tried to carve a new path and new life without football:

“So we start dating 4 1/2 years ago, and kept that down. Man, when we first started dating, I would drive the sprinter van around a little bit. And it was kinda weird because I was kinda coming off my NFL thing.

And it was also a blessing because we really could lean on each other. Like, I would… as the artist, if you’re a big-time artist, that’s that’s your business. Everyone that works is working for you. So I was able to help her with some leadership stuff.

Not that I had a clue how the music industry works, but just overall how to be a leader and stuff. She helped me get through my little thing, but it’s crazy.”

I imagine it had to have been strange, and even pretty difficult, to be at such a stark contrast in terms of the success of their respective careers at this time, so early into the relationship, but it seems to have only made them stronger as a couple.

Duck also talked about how fun it is for him to go on tour, because he just gets to enjoy it without the stress Lainey has, and the songs she’s written about him are of course his favorites, particularly her hit “4X4XU”:

“For me, it’s a lot of fun. I’m thankful I get to show up, and you know, I don’t have that stress level that the artists have. What’s different is, playing football, they’re coming to watch the whole team. There’s a bunch of different players. But those people are coming to watch one person, and one person only. You talk about all eyes on you? It’s crazy.

She’s awesome, dude, she’s the hardest working person I know. It’s been a blessing getting to know her, and her being my future wife, she’s my best friend. It’s a lot of fun going to the shows and watching the fans dress like her, react to all her songs. Obviously the songs about me are my favorite. ‘4X4XU.’ There’s a couple.”

Like most people would probably think, Duck says it’s cool to have such beautiful songs written about their relationship:

“I’m just me, man, she writes about it. She’s a songwriter… she’s always been a songwriter first so it’s cool to see her write songs about me, not just because they’re about me, but taking our story and being able to write melodies and stuff, it’s cool.”

The guys on the podcast joked it’s because he’s not married to her yet, and once they’re official husband and wife and the typical marriage disagreements start coming up, like him not unloading the dishwasher or something, that will change:

“She ain’t wrote nothing bad yet, so that’s been good. Yeah, yet.”

I mean, country music is about real life, and that’s just a natural part of marriage… it ain’t always perfect, so I’m sure eventually the songs might not all be so lovey dovey, but they make a great couple, and I’m sure Duck is absolutely LOVIGN hearing Lainey sing about him onstage every night because he really is living every man’s fantasy.

The full podcast is available below.

“4X4XU”

The post Lainey Wilson’s Fiancé, Duck Hodges, Says Her Career Took Off Right As His In The NFL Ended: “We Really Could Lean On Each Other” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.