It’s official: Lainey Wilson just landed the biggest hit of her life. The country music star and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges are engaged, proving that sometimes, the best love stories aren’t just written in songs — they unfold in real life.
For months, fans have been speculating, connecting the dots between Wilson’s music and Hodges’ playful social media jabs. Wilson, never one to shy away from telling it like it is, even joked she might have to take matters into her own hands and pop the question herself. But Duck got there first. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, he couldn’t wait any longer. The moment happened on Feb. 12, and Wilson took to Instagram to share the news, captioning the post with a heartfelt “4x4xU forever,” a nod to the song she wrote about their love.
She didn’t just tell fans — she showed them. The Instagram post featured four photos and a video, each frame filled with the kind of joy that can’t be faked. One particular highlight? The ring box, shaped like a cowboy hat. Because of course it was. Duck knows his girl.
For Wilson, love and music have always intertwined. Her latest album, Whirlwind, reads like a diary of her relationship with Hodges, from the deeply affectionate “Hang Tight Honey” to the playful “Counting Chickens,” where she name-drops her man in a way only a country song can: “One chicken, two chickens, three chickens, oh shoot, I think that’s a Duck.” Now, it seems that playful counting led her straight to forever.
Wilson has always admired Hodges's dedication. “Since he was five years old, he was trying to play football,” she said in an Audacy interview. “He did whatever it took to walk on with the Steelers. I know how hard he worked for that, and he knows how hard I worked for this.” Their careers have been on parallel tracks — him leaving football, her ascending to country music superstardom.
And now, it looks like they’re making the time. Fans had their suspicions before the engagement was official — especially after Wilson posted photos of herself in a head-to-toe white cowgirl ensemble before the Grammys. But it was Hodges’ comment that really set off alarms: “Gosh dang,” he wrote, adding heart and fire emojis. “This is what you look like in all white?!”
Now, the challenge will be fitting a wedding into Wilson’s grueling schedule. With her Whirlwind Tour running through late 2025, the couple may have to get creative. But there is a small window in July — a perfect time for a summer ceremony before she hits Phoenix on Aug. 14.
