Country music sensation Lainey Wilson dominated the 59th Annual CMA Awards, held live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, in a night that celebrated her incredible talent and featured a surprising personal revelation about the start of her relationship with fiancé Devlin "Duck" Hodges.
A Night of Major Wins
The evening of November 20, 2025, was a monumental one for Wilson, who not only hosted the prestigious ceremony but also took home three of its top honours. The 33-year-old artist was crowned Entertainer of the Year, an award she also won in 2023, solidifying her status as a powerhouse in the genre. She also won awards for Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.
In her heartfelt acceptance speech for Entertainer of the Year, where she beat out nominees like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, Wilson emphasized the importance of community, stating, "It takes a village." When accepting the Female Vocalist award, she encouraged her fans to surround themselves with supportive people and issued a sharp rebuke to online critics, saying, "For the folks that are sitting at home, in your mama’s basement, eating your Cheetos, trying to pit women against each other. Y’all need to find something better to do."
The "Goose" and the Duck: A First Date Fib
Prior to her triumphant night on stage, Wilson shared a charming and humorous story about the beginning of her romance with former NFL quarterback Duck Hodges. In an interview with Southern Living, the singer confessed to telling a small lie on their first date in 2021.
The fib was inspired after Hodges explained how he earned his nickname "Duck" during his college football days at Samford University. "On our first date, I told him that people call me Goose," Wilson admitted. "I was lying, but he fell for it. I think he was like, ‘Oh, I'm in love.'" The playful deception clearly worked, as Hodges proposed to her earlier this year.
Wilson also joked that her lack of culinary skills means her fiancé is with her for other reasons. "He can cook. He’s an Alabama boy, so he knows how to whip it up," she said, adding that if he depended on her cooking, "he’d be gone by now."
Wedding Plans and a Whirlwind Career
In a separate interview with PEOPLE, Wilson, who was busy touring for her album Whirlwind, opened up about her wedding plans. She expressed her desire to find a wedding dress that would leave Hodges "boohooing." The couple met through mutual friends at a Nashville bar called Silverados, and Wilson was impressed by their shared frugality. "I was like, ‘This boy likes to ball on a budget too. This is gonna work out,'" she recalled.
Wilson's career has been on a meteoric rise since her first breakout hit, "Things a Man Oughta Know," in 2020. Her recent accolades are a testament to her hard work, including five CMA wins in 2023, a Grammy for Best Country Album in 2024, and multiple awards from the Academy of Country Music and People's Choice Awards. She named her most recent album Whirlwind because it perfectly captured the pace of her life, acknowledging that success in the music business requires believing in yourself "when nobody else does."
