Lainey Wilson Shares Childhood Letter to Country Icon, 58 - ‘This really puts it all into perspective.’

Lainey Wilson Shares Childhood Letter to Country Icon, 58 - ‘This really puts it all into perspective.’ originally appeared on Parade.

Lainey Wilson, 33, grew up with a Hannah Montana wig and big country music aspirations.

"My dream is to become a country singer/songwriter. I know I can do it,” Wilson wrote in her journal when she was just 16 years old. Seventeen years later, that journal full of bright-eyed hope is now on display at an iconic country music location.

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The “Tough as Nails” exhibit exploring Wilson’s life and career opened Thursday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and is set to run until June 2026. Alongside her childhood journal, the exhibit features other relics of Wilson’s past including a wig from her years as a Hannah Montana impersonator and a fan letter she wrote to Tim McGraw, an artist with whom she shares a childhood connection.

In an interview with Marie Claire in August 2024, Wilson said Tim McGraw was the first concert she attended, and that McGraw’s A Place in The Sun was the first album she ever bought.

“He’s a fellow Louisianian [sic], so I was always proud and inspired by him,” Wilson said.

In a 2024 interview with Garth Brooks, as reported by Backstage Country, Wilson revealed that her connections to the 58-year-old country icon went deeper than childhood admiration.

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"Tim grew up right down the road from me,” she said. “My step-grandmother used to actually babysit him."

Wilson exploded on the Nashville scene in 2021 with her first number one hit “Things a Man Oughta Know," which came out a solid decade after she first moved to the country music hometown. Since then, her star has continued to rise.

In 2023, she won five trophies at the CMA Awards and became the first woman to win Entertainer of the Year since Taylor Swift in 2011. In 2024, she won the Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year award, only to return in 2025 and cement her place at the top by winning the same honor two years in a row.

In an interview with The Tennessean about the “Tough as Nails” exhibit, Wilson said that she hoped that fans would come away with the message that perseverance pays off.

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“You’ve got to be tough as nails to succeed,” she said, “because things don’t happen overnight.” Wilson also talked about her own feelings on her 12+ year climb to stardom. "I'm proud that the artist I am (resulted from) my journey. I survived tough times and came out on the other side," she said.

Wilson’s baby blanket and childhood Tim McGraw fan letter are now on display next to the glittering gowns from award shows and the iconic Wrangler denim vest and studded jeans she wore in her role as Abby in the season finale of Yellowstone.

"This really puts it all into perspective,” Wilson said. “It's been a wild journey.”

Lainey Wilson Shares Childhood Letter to Country Icon, 58 - ‘This really puts it all into perspective.’ first appeared on Parade on Jul 18, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.