Lainey Wilson surprised fans in 2023 when she and Devlin “Duck” Hodges made their red carpet debut — but the couple have been going strong since 2021.
“He’s such a good dude. He is my best friend. He’s my biggest cheerleader,” Wilson exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping in her November 2025 cover story. “We lift each other up. He understands that this life is full of a lot of late nights and travel, and we might be ships passing in the night, but he’s always my rock through it all.”
The Grammy winner, who got engaged to Hodges in 2025, called her fiancé “my home, no matter where we are.”
Hodges, for his part, had a professional football career before meeting Wilson, but his first love was duck hunting. “I’m not a football player who duck hunts. I’m a duck hunter first,” he has said in the past.
Scroll down for everything to know about Wilson’s fiancé Hodges:
Duck Hodges Was an NFL Quarterback
After playing high school football in Alabama, Duck Hodges went to Samford University in Alabama from 2014 to 2018. Hodges left the university as the most decorated football player in the program’s history. According to the school’s website, Hodges was a three-time Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, three-time All-American and he won the 2018 Walter Payton Award. Hodges was inducted into the Samford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.
Following his success at the collegiate level, Hodges signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in May 2019. He was part of the NFL team in 2019 and 2020, starting six games as quarterback. Hodges was briefly on the Los Angeles Rams as well before joining the Canadian Football League in 2021 as a member of the Ottawa Redblacks. He retired in 2022.
Duck Hodges Is a Duck Hunter and Caller
Duck Hodges has hunted his entire life and competed in duck calling contests for decades. He first won the Junior World Duck Calling Contest in 2009 and hasn’t stopped competing since. He has a passion for duck hunting and turkey hunting, showing off his kills and techniques on social media. He has taken fiancée Lainey Wilson out shooting as well as NFL legend Peyton Manning.
“I love hunting, specifically duck hunting. It means so much to me. It’s a way of life for me,” he wrote via Instagram in July 2025. “It’s led me to some of my best friends, it’s led me to connections for real estate sales. It’s a reminder every time I hunt how special our God is. And on this hot summer day, I’m missing it! Enjoying the days leading up to that first frosty morning where it all comes together!”
Duck Hodges Got His Nickname From a Football Coach
“Duck came from freshman year of college. My coach was like, it kinda came from duck calling and loving duck hunting. He started calling me ‘Duck’ one day and it just stuck,” Duck Hodges revealed on a November 2025 episode of the “Like a Farmer” podcast. “It worked out. It’s who I am.”
Hodges noted that the nickname followed him to the NFL, revealing that they had to “ban” duck calls at one of the stadiums when he was playing. Pittsburgh Steelers fans even wore duck masks and had signs that read, “Duck Hunting” in support of him.
Duck Hodges and Lainey Wilson Got Engaged in 2025
Lainey Wilson began dating Duck Hodges in 2021, but the pair didn’t make their red carpet debut until the 2023 ACM Awards that May. The couple announced their engagement in February 2025.
Later that year, Hodges showed the country singer support after she hosted the 2025 CMA Awards in November.
“@laineywilson, thank you for being you. You are such an inspiration and role model for so many, including this guy right here. Absolutely CRUSHED it as a host,” he gushed via Instagram. “This girl right here y’all LOVES country music and loves this community and thank you all who love her back! ❤️🎵.”
Duck Hodges Owns a Lifestyle Brand
After retiring from football, Duck Hodges started playing golf and loved it. However, he didn’t feel like he fully belonged at the country clubs where he played. That realization sparked his clothing brand, Club Country, which launched in February 2026.
“I realized there wasn’t a brand out there that represented someone like me — the guy who wants a high-quality shirt he can wear to the course, but also to dinner or church, all while staying true to his roots,” he wrote on the website.
Hodges later described his brand as a “lifestyle golf brand” about “connecting a lot of things I like to do.” He revealed on the “Like a Farmer” podcast in November 2025 that he wanted to mix “golf on one side and that outdoors country feel and kinda bring them together.”
