Lainey Wilson kept a romantic secret for years. She only went “red carpet official” with her boyfriend, Devlin “Duck” Hodges, at the 2023 ACM Awards. Now, the Internet is wondering if Lainey and Devlin are still together.
Let’s take a deep dive into Lainey and Devlin’s relationship. Most importantly, is he still Lainey’s S.O.?
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Almost a year after Lainey made her relationship public, People Magazine wrote “All about Devlin “Duck” Hodges” on April 9, 2024. Hopefully, that means they’re still together!
According to People, Lainey is “head over boots in love” with Devlin. When they went public at the ACMs, it was “one of the night’s most talked-about moments.”
Lainey Kept Devlin a Secret
In June 2023, Lainey dropped some bombshells when she appeared on The Bobby Bones Show. Lainey revealed quite a bit after Bobby started asking why she’d kept her relationship so “private.”
Lainey admitted that Devlin had “been around for a while.” A bit later, she revealed exactly what she meant by “a while.”
She sweetly described Devlin as “good as gold.” She said that he “supports” her and “would never come in between anything” that Lainey is “trying to do.” Then Lainey spilled some tea.
She confessed, “I just decided to make him wait for two and a half years” before she went public with their relationship. Lainey wanted to be sure. She called Devlin a “good dude” who understood what it was like “chasing a dream.”
Devlin used to play football professionally, and Lainey revealed that Devlin chased his own dream when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and LA Rams. People reported that Devlin is now a successful “real estate agent.”
On July 24th, Taste of Country suggested Lainey’s boyfriend “might have some competition.” Does that mean there’s trouble in paradise?
Thankfully, Taste of Country was joking about “competition.” However, they did reveal that a certain four-year-old boy has a huge crush on Lainey. This is unbelievably cute.
Lainey Has Another Man
Do you watch Today With Hoda & Jenna? On the July 23rd episode, Jenna Bush Hager confessed something about her son, 4-year-old Henry, who’s nickname is “Hal.”
Taste of Country wrote about how this was connected to Lainey and how Henry “just might have developed his own “romance” after he met Lainey during hour three of the Today Show.
Lainey appeared on Today With Hoda & Jenna at the end of June. On July 23rd, Jenna revealed that she’d introduced her 11-year-old daughter, Mila, 8-year-old daughter, Poppy, and little Hal to Lainey.
Jenna told Hoda, “This is something you wouldn’t believe unless you saw it.” She revealed, “I saw it.” Then Jenna spilled the tea.
She joked that “Hal Hager, age 4,” was “acting all smooth and kind of far away from Lainey.” Kind of like a much older guy would do if he wanted to play it cool with a girl he liked.
Shortly after that, Hal whispered a big secret in Mila’s ear. Jenna explained that Hal told his eldest sister that Lainey “asked [him] to be her boyfriend.”
Jenna said that Mila was shocked and asked, “Huh? That singer?”
Hal replied confidently, “Yeah, she asked me. And now, I’m her boyfriend.”
Jenna further explained to the audience that Hal is “4, almost five.”
Mila scolded him and said, “Hal, I think you’re lying.” But Hal didn’t give up. He told his big sister that Lainey “asked” him when he was on stage meeting her.
After Jenna and her husband, Henry, heard about this from Mila, Jenna said they “made fun” of Hal a bit. A couple of weeks later, Jenna heard Hal say he “called” Lainey and “broke up with her.” Then Jenna spoke into the camera, sending out a message to Lainey.
Jenna joked, “So, Lainey, you have an admirer named Hal Hager who created a whole story” about dating her and then calling up and dumping her. Jenna cracked, “We all know it’s false.”
Lainey Was an Overnight Success
In May 2024, Billboard did an interview with Lainey, and she confessed “what’s keeping her grounded” as her star rises in country music. Not surprisingly, Lainey talked a lot about Devlin. But first, she spoke about the real truth of her so-called “overnight” success.
It’s shocking that Lainey spent “10 years of nothing” in Nashville before her first big break in the industry. She told Billboard, “I don’t think you can ever really fully prepare yourself for everything coming at once, and you’re just trying to hold on for dear life.”
Jon Loba is the “president of frontline recordings” for BMG North America, the label that signed Lainey in 2018. He told Billboard that Lainey’s “music was there,” her “personality was there,” and her “performance was there.” Lainey revealed her fun personality when she told Billboard what happened to her the first time she performed in Australia this past March.
Lainey did all the fun, touristy things down under, like holding a koala bear and petting a kangaroo. But she also revealed something unpleasant that happened to her more than once.
She told Billboard, “I got crapped on by a bird twice.” Lainey further explained that she was standing “in the exact same spot” both times it happened.
She said, “I heard it was good fortune, so I was like, ‘Go ahead. Do what you got to do, bird.’”
Devlin Is an Avid Duck Hunter
Speaking of birds, many people want to know how Devlin got his “Duck” nickname, and here’s the real truth. People reported that Devlin got his nickname when he played college football in Alabama. Lainey was their source, and she revealed it all during her interview with Bobby.
Devlin played QB at Samford University. Lainey told Bobby that Devlin’s football coach told him he was “one of the best quarterbacks” ever to play college ball.
Devlin’s coach also said that Devlin reminded him of “one of [his] favorite quarterbacks” from “years ago.” That guy’s nickname was also “Duck.” Lainey told Bobby that the coach and the team “just kind of started calling him Duck.”
But there’s a twist. Devlin is also an “avid duck hunter,” according to People. He actually won the “Junior World Duck Calling Contest” in 2009.
ESPN reported this and wrote that Devlin’s nickname got upgraded when he played pro football for the Pittsburgh Steelers. When Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin heard about the “Duck” nickname, ESPN wrote that Mike “added his own spin to the name,” and started calling Devlin “Duck Dynasty.”
Devlin played in regular-season NFL games in 2019. He later signed a three-year contract with the Ottawa Redblacks in the Canadian Football League, but he ended up in early retirement and left his pro football career behind in April 2022.
Lainey made a personal revelation to Billboard about how a country music legend has guided and inspired her to keep some things in her life as private as possible, most of all her relationship with Devlin. The country music legend Billboard was talking about is Dolly Parton, “who has spoken about the importance of keeping some things to yourself when you’re sharing so much else with the world.”
Lainey and Devlin Are on the Same Page
Lainey revealed that she spent time with Dolly in 2023, and the best part was that she met her in person at the iconic theme park, Dollywood. Apparently, Dolly gave Lainey some personal advice during that meeting. But it had nothing to do with Devlin!
Lainey told Billboard that Dolly “dove right in” and asked her a question about someone else in her life. Dolly asked Lainey, “You got a good manager?”
Lainey replied, “Yep.” Shockingly, Dolly wanted to know if Lainey’s manager is “an a-hole?” Dolly seems to think that a tough manager is necessary for country music stars, and if that’s who Lainey has in her corner, that’s what her career needs.
Lainey told Billboard that when it comes to her and Duck, she knows there will be “some things we can’t escape, and people are going to say and do whatever.” She explained how they’re handling that.
Lainey said that she and Devlin “are on the same page.” They believe, “The less we put out there, the less that we’re going to have to deal with people making anything up and saying anything.”
Lainey added that she and her boyfriend want to keep their relationship “as sacred as we possibly can.” She said, “So far, it has worked for us.”
