When Lainey Wilson walks the red carpet at the 2022 CMA Awards next month, she’ll have a very special plus-one on her arm: her dad, Brian.
“He is out [of the hospital],” Lainey explained during a recent interview with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music’s Today’s Country Radio. “He’s going to walk the red carpet with me.”
Lainey and her father have always been close, but after he experienced a difficult summer of health setbacks and a two-month hospital stay, it’s even more meaningful for the rising star to get to experience the moment with her dad by her side.
The singer has kept fans in the loop about her dad’s health journey and asked for their prayers, especially when she had to cancel a couple of shows earlier this year to be with family.
Now, she says, his recovery is still underway.
“It’s incredible. He was in the hospital for two months,” she details. “He was in a rehab facility for three and a half weeks, and then he just had his 60th birthday. He’s still got a long way to go, but he’s here. He had nine surgeries in a month and a half…He had a stroke on top of all that. But he is a tough son of a gun.”
Lainey’s no slouch herself: The breakout star is the most-nominated artist at the 2022 CMA Awards with six nods. She’s also scheduled to perform with Hardy at the show; they just released a duet called “Wait in the Truck.”
The 2022 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville on ABC on November 9.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.