Lainey Wilson hosts CMAs after admitting she lied to fiancé on first date

Lainey Wilson will return as host of the Country Music Awards on Wednesday night, just weeks after she admitted to lying to fiancé Devlin “Duck” Hodges on their first date.

Wilson will become the third woman to host the CMAs multiple times. Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire were the only women asked to return as hosts ahead of Wilson’s big night on Wednesday.

By November 19, Wilson shared that she texted McEntire and asked for advice on how to handle the awards ceremony on her own.

“There’s a lot of joy. I think it’s going to be a great week. I mean, it’s a big deal. So there’s some big old shoes to fill. So I don’t make light of it, but… I’ll just… we’ve only had a solo female host three times; Dolly, Reba, Lainey, it’s crazy,” Wilson said at a press conference Sunday.

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“I texted Reba last night and said, ‘If you had one piece of advice for me going into this week, what would it be?’ So I thought you’d say something like ‘just be yourself and have fun’. He sent me a list. “I was like, wow, wow, bit of advice,” he said.

“But yeah, like I said, there are some very big shoes to fill and I feel very honored. So thank you all for letting me run my mouth and celebrate country music,” Wilson added.

Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire are two other women who have hosted the CMAs multiple times. They were photographed here in 1986. (CBS via Getty Images)

Last year, Wilson co-hosted the 2024 CMAs with Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning.

Wilson and Hodges arrived on the red carpet during the 2024 CMAs in matching black blazers and cowboy hats; This was a historic night for Wilson to host for the first time.

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Lainey Wilson and Devlin Hodges attended the 58th Annual CMA Awards in 2024 wearing matching looks. (Photo: Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic)

Hodges popped the question just before Valentine’s Day 2025. “4x4xU forever ❤️,” Wilson wrote Instagram postannounced that the couple was engaged.

In October, Wilson interviewed: Wide Open Country and shared details about the couple’s first date in 2021. He told Hodges, a former NFL player, that he lied to impress her on their first date.

WATCH: CMAS HOST LAINEY WILSON MESSAGES REBA MCENTIRE FOR ADVICE BEFORE HOSTING THE BIG SHOW SOLO

Hodges began the date by telling the singer the story behind his nickname, “Duck,” from his time playing football 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 perfect season that year. And so the whole team started saying: ‘This is Duck season; ‘Duck season!’ So that’s how he got Duck,” Wilson explained.

Devlin Hodges proposed to Lainey Wilson in February 2025. (Getty Images)

Wilson quickly realized that he wanted to be a continuation of a story and lied about people calling him “Goose”.

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

Wilson opened before people magazine It’s about the relationship difficulties that come with being a touring artist.

“You definitely have to time it well. It has to be something that you’re very aware of and you’re like, ‘Okay, I’ve got a day off here in 10 days. I need to take that day to spend time with myself.’ We both need that and deserve that, and that’s always great. “We try to make the most of those moments as much as we can,” Wilson told People in August.

COUNTRY STAR LAINEY WILSON GET ENGAGED AFTER JOKE ‘MAY HAVE TO PROPOSE’ AFTER THREE YEARS

Lainey Wilson admits she lied to her fiancée on a first date. (Getty Images)

In September Wilson said: Taste of the Country that she knew her marriage to Hodges would be successful because of their similar approaches to managing their finances.

“I’ll tell you this about Duck, he’s pretty frugal. not including “When it comes to good hunting things like preparing for duck season and having all the proper gear, that’s what he likes to splurge on,” he said.

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Wilson has no problem with her future husband’s big purchases because she doesn’t want him to control hers. “I’m not going to tell him what to do because he’s not going to tell me what kind of guitar I can buy, you know?” he said.

Wilson said in August that they were not planning their wedding yet. (Getty Images)

In August, the “Yellowstone” star shared details about how her wedding planning went down with Hodges.

“Well, you’re not going to believe this, but we still haven’t planned it, God rest his soul,” Wilson said. Taste of the Country In that case.

Wilson said that although concrete plans haven’t been made, she and Hodges have been talking about the details of their wedding, including the guest list.

Lainey Wilson and Devlin “Duck” Hodges have been together since 2021. (Getty Images for Matt Winkelmeyer/CMT)

“Of course we sit down and talk about what we want. We’re just trying to figure out if that’s the case. [the wedding] big or small? Is a cousin coming or something? Isn’t he a cousin or something?”

The 59th annual CMA Awards will be held on November 19, 2025, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink contributed to this report

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