CMA host Lainey Wilson admits lying to fiance Duck Hodges on 1st date

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Presenter and performer Laney Wilson had a busy night at the 2025 Country Music Association Awards, winning Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.

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But before taking the stage at the 59th Annual CMA Awards, which aired live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, Wilson, 33, opened up about her recent engagement to Devlin “Duck” Hodges, revealing Southern life that she lied to him on their first date.

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In an interview ahead of the broadcast, Wilson shared details about the couple's first date in 2021, telling the publication that she lied to impress the former NFL player-turned-real estate agent after he told her how he got the nickname “Duck” while playing in college.

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“He said he played football at Samford (University) and the coach there (said), 'You remind me of one of my favorite quarterbacks, and his name was Duck.' And he had a great season that year. And the whole team started saying, “It’s duck season; It's duck season!” That’s how he got Dak,” Wilson explained.

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Wilson then came up with the nickname “Goose” to try to strengthen what would become a love affair.

“On our first date, I told him people call me Goose. I lied, but he fell for it. I think he was like, 'Oh, I'm in love,'” she said.

Elsewhere in his interview Southern lifeWilson joked that her cooking skills played no role in cementing her bond with Hodges, who popped the question earlier this year.

“My fiancé definitely likes me for a lot of other reasons: if he depended on my cooking, he wouldn't be here,” she said. “He can cook. He's an Alabama boy, so he knows how to cook it.”

In a separate interview with PEOPLEWilson, who has been on the road for much of the year promoting her fifth studio album. Vortexopened up about her wedding plans, telling the publication that she wanted to find a dress that would make Hodges “woo-hoo.”

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“I need to go dress shopping or talk to someone about making a dress,” she said. “I'm looking forward to stepping outside the box and seeing what happens. So hopefully when he sees me, he'll gasp.”

She previously told the publication that they met through mutual friends in Nashville.

“We went to this old place called Silverados and they had free beer and wine from 5 to 10 p.m.,” she explained. PEOPLE. “I thought, ‘This boy likes to save money too. This will work.”

After they went public with their relationship in 2023, Wilson said she waited two years because she wanted to make sure Hodges was in it “for the right reasons.”

“Turns out, yes,” she said. “I’m very pleased to talk about this.”

Before the broadcast, the two walked the red carpet together, with Wilson wearing a turquoise ensemble that included her signature bell-bottoms and Hodges wearing a brown number with a subtle hint of color in his bride-to-be's direction.

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Wilson Wins 2025 CMA Awards

During her time as host Wednesday night, Wilson became only the third woman – after Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire – to host the ceremony for the second time.

Winning Entertainer of the Year, beating out Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen, Wilson paid tribute to her fans and inner circle.

“It takes a village,” she said in her acceptance speech.

When she was named Female Vocalist of the Year, Wilson urged her fans to “find those people, find those people that lift you up, encourage you, pray for you, pray with you. Love, on the good days… on the bad days, through it all.”

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She also criticized critics who try to create drama among various female artists.

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“For people who are sitting at home in your mom's basement eating your Cheetos and trying to turn women against each other. Y'all need to find something better,” she said.

After years of struggling in Music City, Wilson scored her first breakthrough hit. Things a man should know in 2020 and won five CMA Awards in 2023, including Entertainer of the Year.

Wilson also won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Country Album, the People's Choice Award for Female Country Artist of the Year, the CMT Music Award for Female Video of the Year, and Female Artist of the Year and Female Artist of the Year at the 2024 Grammy Awards. 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards.

The Louisiana native said Postmedia in an interview what did she title her latest album Vortex because it was the only word that accurately reflected her life for the past couple of years.

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“You have to be a little crazy to want to be in this business,” she said. “You have to believe in it when no one else does. It took me years to find a team of people who truly believed in what I was doing. I feel like once I started finding those people, one at a time, it all started to make sense.”

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