Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Dating Lainey Wilson Says Boyfriend Devlin 'Duck' Hodges Is Her 'Biggest Cheerleader' and 'Gives Me a Run for My Money' In a conversation with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, the country star opened up about navigating a relationship where both people have busy schedules By Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and more. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 21, 2024 03:35PM EDT Lainey Wilson has found solid ground with Devlin "Duck" Hodges. In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1 on Wednesday, Aug. 21, the country star, 32, opened up about her relationship with the former NFL player-turned-real estate agent, 28. "I finally found a guy that gives me a run for my money," Wilson said of her Hodges. "And he's my biggest cheerleader. 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." Devlin "Duck" Hodges and Lainey Wilson attend the CMT Music Awards on April 7, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Chris Saucedo/WireImage Lainey Wilson on Keeping Her Relationship with Devlin 'Duck' Hodges Private: 'It Has Worked for Us' The "Heart Like a Truck" hitmaker also reflected on how the pair's romance heated up when her boyfriend was on the Pittsburgh Steelers. "We met at a time where he was still playing with them, but then it all changed," Wilson recalled. "So it was weird. It was like his life was changing as my life was changing and we were going different directions...." The radio host, 51, noted how it was "a great test" for the couple. "Yeah, it was wild," the "Watermelon Moonshine" performer replied. "You would think that somebody couldn't handle that." Wilson explained that their relationship dynamic is a "whirlwind." "I mean, it's not normal," she said. "We don't get to see each other as often as some couples do, but we also know that have is very special." Wilson added that "for the most part it's hard," but it's also "easy." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Lainey Wilson and Devlin "Duck" Hodges at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star on May 11, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. John Shearer/Getty Who Is Lainey Wilson's Boyfriend? All About Devlin 'Duck' Hodges Despite her thriving romance, fans shouldn't expect the Grammy winner to be churning out love songs. "'I love you' has been said in a million different ways and we're all just trying to find ways to say it different, but I don't think I'll ever be the love songwriter that's super mushy gushy," Wilson said. The "Country's Cool Again" singer has been dating Hodges since 2021. However, they didn’t go public with their relationship until two years later when Wilson's beau accompanied her to the ACM Awards in May 2023, where they made their red carpet debut. Over the past few years, Wilson has largely tried to keep their relationship private. "We want to keep that as sacred as we possibly can between me and him, and so far, it has worked for us," she said.