Lainey Wilson and her new husband, Duck Hodges, are still getting used to married life — and they’re already finishing each other’s sentences.
The newlyweds made their first big public appearance as husband and wife at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, where Wilson was nominated for seven awards during one of country music’s biggest nights.
While speaking with Fox News Digital on the red carpet, the couple sweetly bounced thoughts off one another while reflecting on their whirlwind wedding week and settling into married life.
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“It’s crazy. It really is crazy. Getting to call you my husband,” Wilson said as Hodges smiled beside her.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” the former NFL quarterback added.
“It hasn’t sunk in, you know. I mean—” Wilson continued before Hodges added: “We just got married a week ago.”
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“We did just get married a week ago, but it feels very special,” Wilson said. “I mean, this feels like we’re flipping the page into another chapter in our lives, and I couldn’t be excited to do with anybody else more than him.”
The couple’s chemistry and playful back-and-forth continued throughout the interview as they reflected on a Tennessee wedding that felt deeply personal to them both.
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The “Heart Like A Truck” singer later revealed the unexpected wedding moment that hit her most emotionally. A longtime fan of bell-bottoms and cowboy hats, Wilson joked that seeing herself fully dressed as a bride was a moment all on its own.
“Him seeing me in a dress for the first time,” the country star said with a laugh.
“That was it.”
The singer then shifted into a more heartfelt reflection about the ceremony itself.
“Just doing that in front of your friends and your family,” Wilson said. “It’s a big moment, and we were just excited to be up there.”
“It was a good time,” Hodges added.
Wilson and Hodges tied the knot May 10 at The Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tennessee, during a romantic ceremony held on a cobblestone ledge in front of a waterfall.
While speaking with Vogue after the wedding, Wilson explained that the couple actually stumbled upon the venue while driving Tennessee backroads together.
“Duck and I were driving backroads in Tennessee and saw a billboard for The Ruskin Cave,” Wilson told Vogue. “Duck said, ‘You wanna get married there?’ I said, ‘Done deal.’”
The Grammy winner said they immediately fell in love with the cave’s natural beauty and relaxed atmosphere.
“You could hear the water trickling down and birds singing, and we had a nice spring breeze,” Wilson recalled. “I arrived in a white horse-drawn carriage and walked down the aisle with my Deddy to join Duck at the altar.”
The wedding reflected both Wilson’s Louisiana roots and the couple’s laid-back relationship.
“We wanted it to be special and beautiful, but really welcoming and comfortable for our guests,” Wilson told Vogue. “We tried not to take ourselves too seriously.”
The star incorporated touches of home throughout the celebration, including a Cajun-inspired menu and a 12-piece jazz band, Rebirth Brass Band, that led guests through a New Orleans-style second line celebration after the ceremony.
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“It was so lovely to have that touch of my home in Louisiana up here in Tennessee,” Wilson said.
According to Vogue, the bride wore a custom Oscar de la Renta gown adorned with tiny Japanese cherry blossoms scattered throughout the dress and neckline.
“The cherry blossom represents living in the moment, and that’s exactly what we did,” Wilson explained.
Meanwhile, Hodges leaned fully into the Western aesthetic with a bespoke dark green suit, a custom gold duck bolo tie, cowboy hat and custom boots from Wilson’s own Golden West Boots brand.
Wilson later shared additional behind-the-scenes wedding details with Vogue, including the couple privately reading handwritten vows to one another before the ceremony to keep part of the experience intimate.
“I have never seen Duck smile as big as he did then,” Wilson admitted. “It made me feel giddy about turning the page into this next chapter of marriage. We were both anxious to say ‘I do!’”
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The newlyweds later danced their first dance to Muscadine Bloodline’s “10-90 (The Sound of Roses)” before ending the night with a sparkler sendoff and driving away in an old white Ford truck.
Wilson and Hodges first met in 2021 after mutual friends set them up on a blind date in Nashville.
“We went to a spot on the water in Nashville called Moby Dicky’s, and then we went to Silverado’s,” Wilson told Vogue. “We’ve been pretty inseparable since.”
After four years together, Hodges proposed in February 2025 at the former Tennessee estate of country music legend George Jones.
The ACM Awards appearance marked a full-circle moment for the couple, who first made their public debut together at the 2023 ACM Awards before returning this year as newlyweds.
