Lainey and Duck met in 2021when Duck played for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Lainey Wilson has shared a very rare glimpse into her home life with boyfriend Devlin Hodges, revealing that there “ain’t nowhere” she’d rather be than with him.
The video showed the pair sitting next to each other in a 4×4 as they drove through bumpy forest terrain alongside a lake. Shooting the video from the rearview mirror, the pair were all smiles and Devlin – known as Duck – leaned in close to his girlfriend.
They were both in baseball caps, with Lainey tying her hair up into the ballcap.
“Ain’t nowhere I’d rather be #4x4xu @devlinhodges,” she captioned the post, which was overlaid with her new hit single “4x4xU”.
“Ain’t nowhere I’d rather be / than in a 4×4 by you, babe, N.Y.C. to L.A. / city to the country / from here to Kalamazoo,” the lyrics go.
Duck is a former NFL player turned real estate agent, and he quipped: “Heard that guy is ready for duck season,” in the comments section.
The pair met in 2021 when Duck played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but their lives were going in different directions, as Lainey’s singing career kicked off and Duck left the NFL and signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.
© SUZANNE CORDEIRO“It was like his life was changing as my life was changing and we were going different directions,” she told Zane Lowe earlier in 2024 of their early days of friendship, however in 2022 he retired from sports and they were able to put their focus on their relationship.
“I mean, it’s not normal,” she said of their unusual dynamic. “We don’t get to see each other as often as some couples do, but we also know that what we have is very special.”
“He’s my biggest cheerleader,” she continued. “He’s just a good person. And he knows how important chasing down a dream is because even when he was a little boy, football was his life.”
© Terry WyattThey went public in 2023, after Devlin began frequently retweeting posts praising Lainey for her artistry. He also retweeted a fan’s post about Lainey wearing his jersey at an April 2023 concert, inviting her to reach out, followed by another tweet saying, “Shooting my shot”.
To the delight of fans, Lainey responded to his tweet with, “This is me hollering.” Devlin then replied, “Oh my God. Hello.”
That soft launch then led to their first public appearance in May 2023, when he was her date at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards.