‘Yellowstone’ star Lainey Wilson and former NFL pro Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges began dating in 2021

Lainey Wilson tells Fox News Digital she’s very thankful for her boyfriend Duck and is happy to have his support at the CMT Music Awards.

Lainey Wilson spilled the details of how Devlin “Duck” Hodges asked her to marry him.

Hodges proposed in February and Wilson shared the moment on Instagram, writing, “4x4xU forever.” Now, the country music star has revealed she truly was surprised by the former NFL quarterback’s proposal.

“So, I had talked myself into thinking he was going to do it that day,” Wilson said, captured on video by News Channel 5 Nashville. “And then I called my sister, I said, ‘He’s going to propose to me today.’ And she was like, ‘I gotta go.'”

“And then I talked myself out of it because I thought, ‘Man, I sure would be upset if I talked myself into this and that don’t happen,'” she added.

Lainey Wilson previously joked she might have to propose to boyfriend Devlin “Duck” Hodges. (Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic)

Hodges and Wilson had been planning to visit the George Jones estate, which had been listed by one of Hodges’ friends, who is a real estate agent. The two made a plan to stop by during the week after this year’s Super Bowl.

“And then as we [pulled] up, I realized that there were different plans,” Wilson explained. “So, he had it all set up. He had the candles and the picture frames, and it could not have been more perfect.”

Wilson admitted she hasn’t done much wedding planning since the proposal. “We really need to sit down and make that a priority,” she explained. “But I’m sure that it’ll be something that’s just very, very simple, you know?”

Hodges proposed to Wilson in February. (Getty Images)

Months before their proposal, Wilson joked she might have to get down on one knee after Bunnie Xo said she hoped Wilson and Hodges get engaged in 2025.

“No pressure, brother! No pressure,” Wilson told Bunnie, who was interviewing the “Watermelon Moonshine” singer for CMT. “I might have to propose to him. We waiting!”

“No, Duck’s gonna do it. I could feel it,” Bunnie noted.

“I like that,” Wilson added.

Wilson wants to make wedding planning a “priority.” (Getty Images)

Wilson seemingly always knew Hodges was the one for her and revealed she actually sent her now-fiancé engagement ring choices four years ago.

“Honestly, as a joke, right when we first started dating, because we knew pretty much immediately, we were like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna be in each other’s lives.’ It just felt that natural. And as a joke, I had texted him some big rings, being like this is what I like. He was like, ‘Oh, Lord. I better start saving now,'” she recalled in the video captured by News Channel 5 Nashville.

“We’ve been together for four years. What he did is he went in and designed it and kind of put some of those rings together that I sent him. So I’d have said yes, if it was a tiny little thing. But he messed up,” she joked.

Wilson and Hodges secretly dated for two and a half years. (Rich Polk/NBC via Getty Images)

Wilson and Hodges debuted their relationship in 2023. She later revealed they had been dating for two and a half years before they walked the red carpet together.

“It’s really cool to be able to start sharing that side of my life,” Wilson said during an appearance on the “Taste of Country Nights, On Demand” radio show. “‘Cause for a long time, I kept him on the [down low]. I wanted to see if he was actually gonna be around to stay. You know what I’m saying?”

It looks like Hodges passed the test, and now has a front-row seat to Wilson’s career.

“I play all my songs for him before I play ‘em for anybody,” the singer-songwriter told Bobby Bones on his radio show. “So he’s heard a little bit of everything. And he’s heard a lot of love songs that I’ve written him that nobody else will hear.”

Wilson called Hodges her “biggest cheerleader.” (Getty Images)

Hodges and Wilson began dating in 2021 after being introduced through mutual friends. “We went to this old place called Silverados, and it had free beer and wine from 5 to 10 p.m.,” the musician told People magazine. “I was like, ‘This boy likes to ball on a budget too. This is gonna work out.'”

Before making their red carpet debut, Wilson sparked speculation of their romance by wearing Hodges’ Pittsburgh Steelers jersey while performing in Pittsburgh.

“He’s one of my biggest cheerleaders,” Wilson told Fox News Digital at the 2024 CMT Awards. “I always say that he’s the kind of dude that will high-five you on the way in the door and high-five you on the way out.”

“Especially with the kind of job that I have. It’s important to have those kind[s] of people in your life. So I’m very thankful that he’s here with me.”

Wilson brought Hodges as her date to several award shows after revealing their romantic relationship. (Getty Images)

Hodges, who now works in real estate, previously played for the Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams.

“He knows what it’s like chasing a dream because he’s done that for himself,” Wilson said during her appearance on “The Bobby Bones Show.” “He was in the NFL. He tried out literally for the Steelers and made it and had a really great run with them. Went out to L.A. Rams and did that.”

The former NFL star currently works for Myers Cobb Realtors, based in Tennessee.