Dolly Parton has a surprising influence on Lainey Wilson.
While many would expect the "Jolene" singer to be a music industry mentor to the "Heart Like A Truck" singer, Wilson reveals that the best advice Parton gave to her was about her personal life.
Wilson went public about her relationship with Devlin "Duck" Hodges at the ACM Awards in May 2023. Although the red carpet debut was flashy, she says she prefers to keep the romance private.
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"When it comes to mine and Duck's relationship, there's going to be some things that we can't escape and people are going to say and do whatever, but me and him are on the same page about the less we put out there, the less that we're going to have to deal with people making anything up and saying anything," she recently told Billboard. "We want to keep that as sacred as we possibly can between me and him, and so far, it has worked for us."
Wilson cites Parton's 57-year marriage as an inspiration for her and Hodges. Although the "9 to 5" singer has been with Carl Thomas Dean since she was 18-years-old, she mainly keeps their relationship private.
"I have fought tooth and nail to make sure that I am doing the things that make me feel like me, [like] calling my family at home, checking to see how the farm's going and see if Daddy has planted his crops, [checking in] on my nephews, hanging out with my boyfriend on the porch and those kinds of things," Wilson went on to say.
Parton also opened up about their friendship, stating that she knows Wilson will never sacrifice her personal integrity for money, which is a principle that she has stuck with throughout her storied career.
"In this business, as in any other, you have to sacrifice and compromise to get things done," Parton shared. "But I believe Lainey, like myself, will never sacrifice her principles and values for a dollar bill."
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The singer included a track on her new album titled "WWDD," which is short for "What Would Dolly Do?" Their relationship formed during a visit to Dollywood when Parton imparted some of her country music industry wisdom onto Wilson.
"She dove right in," Wilson reveals of their meeting. "She was like, 'You got a good manager?' And I was like, 'Yep.' She said, 'Well, is he an a-hole?' " Wilson pointed to Monchick and said, " 'She's a big a-hole.' And [Dolly] said, 'That's all I needed to hear. That's what you need.'"
Parton went on to share her deep admiration of Wilson, commending her for baring her soul through her songwriting.
"Even though Lainey is breathtakingly beautiful to look at, her true beauty comes from deep down where songs are born and written," Parton gushed about the "Watermelon Moonshine" songstress. "People feel her heart and soul in what she writes because she knows what they know, feels what they feel and has the gift to present it in words. God bless her. He has and he will."
Aside from her songwriting, Wilson will also be opening her own bar in Nashville this summer. It is set to replace Florida Georgia Line's superbar, which shut down earlier this week.
