Now, however, plenty of observers around the Internet are wondering if she and this man have also made their relationship official.
Which is to say a lot more clearly: Did Kate Gosselin get married?!?
Kate Gosselin arrives at NBCUniversal’s 2015 Winter TCA Tour – Day 2 at The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa on January 16, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
The mom of eight stirred up speculation that she exchanged vows with her boyfriend and former bodyguard, Steve Neild, in a TikTok post on January 7.
In the footage, which Neild recorded, she’s looking through a shop in New Zealand and has a ring that resembles a wedding band on her ring finger.
A bunch of followers took note and came right ask to inquire over the piece of jewelry.
“Whooaaaa. Did you get married?” one person asked very simply.
(Instagram)
As it turns out, these same followers were in for a disappointment.
“No lol,” the polarizing personality responded. “That’s just my regular jewelry.”
Gosselin concluded the video by telling her followers that she spent the equivalent of over $170 in the store.
“And my GoFundMe, Steve, treated me to a few items,” she said. “But he also got a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. It’s really rare that he buys himself any clothing, so I’m really happy and proud of him.”
“Now we’re going to the beach!” she said as the video wrapped up.
Kate Gosselin of the television show “Kate Plus Date speaks during the HGTV segment of the 2019 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on February 12, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
This past fall, Gosselin revealed that she was in a relationship, as she told fans in a TikTok she was “super, super happy” and had been dating the mystery man for “a little over a year.”
Her son, Collin, and ex-husband, Jon, fired back shortly after this announcement, though, claiming that Kate has cheated on Jon way back in the day with this same person.
Collin, for his part, alleged that his mom “had an affair with our bodyguard way back in 2009 and for years would share hotel rooms with him while we went on family vacations” via his Instagram Stories.
(Photo Credit: Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Discovery)
“I feel very strongly on the matter of cheating and then blaming someone else for your own actions,” the 21-year old wrote. “Everyone says my dad and I are hung up on my mom. We are not. We have suffered the damage of a narcissist and cried together.”
Jon, meanwhile, remarried in November 2025, saying “I do” to Stephanie Lebo in Pennsylvania. His daughter Hannah, along with Collin, were in attendance.
Collin told Entertainment Tonight he was “very happy,” adding to this outlet:
“With everything he’s been through, it just highlighted even more for me that he’s really deserving of this.”
But this, unfortunately, is a bigger deal than having to postpone a Vegas residency.
Dolly Parton attends Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs In Symphony World Premiere at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on March 20, 2025. (Photo Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Where is Dolly?
On Wednesday, January 7, living legend Dolly Parton appeared on the Instagram page of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Well hey there Grand Ole Opry family,” she began the health update video.
“I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you’re all coming together again this year,” she expressed.
Dolly loves that fans are eager “to celebrate my big ol’ birthday with some of my songs.”
The event to which she refers is Saturday, January 17 — though her birthday will be on the following Monday, the 19th.
Dolly Parton speaks onstage at the 53rd Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala at Music City Center on October 11, 2023. (Photo Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
“Some of my favorite memories happened right here on stage at the Grand Ole Opry,” Dolly gushed in her video.
“And I wish I could be there in person,” she affirmed.
“But,” Dolly assured her fans and followers, “I’ll be sending you all my love, for sure.”
Just because she won’t be there in person doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t celebrate in style, however.
Dolly urged her fans to attend and “have the best night ever.”
Despite the grim news, Dolly was quick to crack jokes at her own expense.
In particular, she alluded to how much cosmetic surgery she has had over the years.
This time, she told her fans, it wasn’t just a tune-up on her face and body. She’s having health issues.
Dolly Parton attends “Dolly: An Original Musical” fireside chat and press conference at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on January 28, 2025. (Photo Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
All along, Dolly has projected an optimistic outlook.
Whatever ails her, she doesn’t believe that it will be terminal.
Instead, she has framed this as “slowing down” for a while so that she can have many more years of fun and laughter.
It is of course important to note that Dolly’s husband died late last winter. That was ten months ago. He was 82.
Sometimes, a spouse passes away and the widow or widower keeps their memory alive for years or decades to come. But, other times, the heartbreak leads one spouse to follow the other sooner than anyone would like.
Dolly Parton accepts an Academy Honorary Award via video during the 16th Governors Awards on November 16, 2025. This was one of multiple appearances that she made remotely amidst “health issues.” (Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
What’s making her sick?
One of Dolly’s ailments was a kidney stone. We know that much.
However, it’s clear that there is some sort of broader health issue that she and her medical team are addressing.
It would be irresponsible to speculate wildly on what it might be until we have more information.
Instead, we will simply wish her the best.
Happy early 80th birthday, Dolly. You’re a treasure, and we wish you many many more.
Donald Trump said Thursday a Republican senator who is crucial to the party’s chances of keeping the Senate this year should “never be elected to office again.” Susan Collins has seen it before.
Trump issued the Truth Social broadside against the longtime Maine senator and four other Republicans on Thursday after they voted with Democrats to rein in his powers to carry out future military actions against Venezuela, a sharp rebuke of the White House’s unilateral outlook following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
The president’s online salvo comes as the Maine senator navigates a tough reelection in a blue state that Trump lost by 7 points in 2024. Her bid will rely on a coalition that includes independents and Democrats, many of whom have backed her in the past because of her breaks from Trump and other GOP leaders. But she also needs to turn out Trump’s MAGA base in a year he won’t be on the ticket to juice turnout — a tougher challenge if they’re actively feuding.
Collins told reporters after Trump’s post that she guessed Trump “would prefer to have Gov. Mills or somebody else with whom he’s not had a great relationship” than her — alluding to a confrontation between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Trump when the governor visited the White House last year. Mills, who is now running to challenge Collins, told Trump she would sue to fight his administration’s actions to restrict transgender youth from sports.
Trump’s attack on Collins was met with laughs from Democrats who said that they, too, would like to see Collins never elected again. She is their top target on a tough Senate map, and if they have any hopes of flipping the upper chamber they need to defeat the shrewd senator.
Mills painted the vote as one of election-year political expediency.
“Susan never does the right or hard thing the first time when it’s needed most — only when it serves her politically. She is always a day late and a dollar short,” Mills said in a statement to POLITICO. “To the President, I say ‘See you in the Senate!’ Wait until you see what I’ve got in store for your MAGA agenda.”
The campaign of Graham Platner, the other prominent Democrat challenging Collins, did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s anger at fellow Republicans has been enough to drive others from office. There is no indication so far the White House is serious about finding a primary challenger to Collins, and they are quickly running out of time if they were to try to do so. But any sustained animosity from Trump toward Collins could still spell trouble for her reelection.
A source close to the Trump administrations granted anonymity to speak candidly told POLITICO that the general thinking is Republicans will hold the Senate with or without Collins, but didn’t predict a sustained campaign against her: “Like a lot with the president, this is a moment in time, and what is said today does not necessarily hold for tomorrow.”
This is far from the first time Trump has gone after Collins. And criticism from the president ahead of her last reelection bid in 2020 was not enough to tank her.
“Trump has caused no end of problems for Sen. Collins,” said Mary Small, a Republican former state lawmaker in Maine and Collins ally. “I think she’d be in the 70th percentile right now of approval rating if we didn’t have Donald Trump as president. So she’s had to walk a very cautious line.”
Still, blowback from voters loyal to Trump in Maine might be offset by independents and Democrats who appreciate Collins setting her own path, Small said.
“Republicans have never been able to elect someone just on their own,” she said. “She has to have independents support her to get elected, and Democrats.”
Some who’ve been in similar spots say that’s not so easy to manage.
Mike Coffman, the Aurora, Colorado mayor and former five-term GOP congressman, empathized with Collins’ tricky electoral position. Coffman kept Trump at arm’s length during his 2018 reelection bid in hopes of siphoning Democrat support in his swing district, but it wasn’t enough: He lost that race to Democratic Rep. Jason Crow by 11 points in a state that voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton two years prior.
“That’s very hard to navigate,” Coffman said of Collins’ relationship to the president. “Because when you distance yourself from Trump you might pick up some support in the middle but you’re going to lose the hardcore Trump supporters whose loyalty is to Trump and not to the Republican Party.”
In Trump’s first term, Collins broke with Senate Republicans to help sink the attempted Affordable Care Act repeal. Then, weeks before the 2020 election — the toughest reelect campaign of her career — Trump blasted her for not supporting his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. (Collins argued the winner of the 2020 presidential election should get to appoint a new justice.)
Collins still sailed to victory a few weeks later, winning 52 percent of the vote statewide while Trump won just 44 percent.
Democrats are hopeful that the 2026 midterms won’t let her replicate that success. Collins has not had to run for reelection in a midterm with a Republican president since 2002. Trump’s approval rating was 19 points underwater in a Maine poll last month, while Collins didn’t fare much better, at 17 points underwater. That same poll found her tied with both Mills and Platner in hypothetical general election matchups.
When Collins voted in 2021 to convict Trump in his second Senate impeachment trial, she avoided some of the blowback that other GOP senators encountered: Maine Republicans opted not to censure her. No primary challengers have emerged ahead of her 2026 run, with some in the state acknowledging that any alternative to Collins was far more likely to be a Democrat than another Republican.
That hasn’t stopped Trump from criticizing Collins. Just last summer, he posted on Truth Social that Republicans should typically vote “the exact opposite” of the Maine senator, while White House officials privately discussed who they might want to replace her if she opted not to run again.
Former GOP Sen. Mark Kirk, who distanced himself from Trump before losing a Senate race in blue-leaning Illinois in 2016, said he thinks Collins’ longtime popularity in the state will outweigh any attacks from the president. He recalled joking with Collins during a congressional delegation trip overseas about her winning one of her Senate primaries by a “North Korean percentage.”
“Susan Collins has reached that state of nirvana that all of us in the Senate want to reach, to be synonymous with her state,” Kirk said.
“People will say ‘Well, if Donald Trump’s against her, then I’m gonna vote for her,” he added. “My guess is on edge, he will have actually helped her with this.”
Alex Gangitano contributed reporting to this report.
Daniel Caesar recently returned to the NPR Tiny Desk to perform a set of five songs from his 2025 album, Son of Spergy. Caesar’s last appearance at the Tiny Desk was in 2018, following the release of his debut album, Freudian. That first performance remains in the top 15 most-viewed Tiny Desk concerts on YouTube, and his latest has already passed the one million view mark.
This time around, Caesar was accompanied by an upright piano, a guitar, and a 12-piece choir. While that may sound like a lot of people behind a famously small desk, the performance feels surprisingly intimate. In the words of NPR’s Bobby Carter: “From note number one, I, along with the audience of NPR staffers, was instantly stunned by the power of the choir and how Caesar effortlessly led them… There may have been others in the crowd who felt what I felt: This is one of the most transcendent moments at the Tiny Desk.”
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Caesar opened the set with Son of Spergy’s opening track, “Rain Down.” He picked up his guitar to continue with “Emily’s Song,” “Moon,” and “Who Knows,” before taking to the piano himself for album closer “Sins of the Father.” Son of Spergy, released last October, is Caesar’s fourth album, following 2017’s Freudian, 2019’s Case Study 01, and 2023’s Never Enough. Spergy dives deep into Caesar’s relationships with his father and his faith. “It’s about religion,” he told Billboard, “but more importantly, it’s about my father. In your childhood, your father is a lot like God. He’s the person you fear the most on earth and also the person whose love and respect you desire more than anyone else on earth.”
The record features collaborations with Sampha, Bon Iver, and Blood Orange among others. Caesar’s father, nicknamed Spergy, also features on the album, adding vocals to the track “Baby Blue.”
RODEOHOUSTON is gearing up to head back to NRG Stadium in Houston, TX from March 2–22, and it’s bringing an epic performance lineup with it. Today’s announcement reveals the 2026 entertainers will include a mix of established superstars, rising acts, a few long-awaited returns.
According to a statement from Chris Boleman, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, this year’s event promises to raise the bar with the level of talent taking the stage.
“We strive to bring Houston the very best in live entertainment, and the 2026 lineup raises that standard once again,” said Boleman. “From chart-topping newcomers to artists making their long-awaited return after nearly 20 years, this year’s lineup is truly a reflection of both our Western roots and the vibrant footprint of the Houston community.”
The announcement of this year’s lineup kicked off with a surprise moment on January 7, 2026, when Russell Dickerson gave thousands of fans a pop-up performance in Times Square, officially securing his spot in Texas this spring. Dickerson is among the nine artists on the roster that will make their Star Stage debuts this year.
Other first-time performers include Lizzo, Forrest Frank, Megan Moroney, Creed, Shaboozey, Pepe Aguilar, Red Clay Strays, and Koe Wetzel. Meanwhile, country staples Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw will also return to the stage, marking McGraw’s 11th appearance and Bryan’s 13th. Bryan, who was inducted into the Star Trail of Fame in 2025, is one of eleven artists in the lineup to hold this distinction.
Three select artists are set to return to the annual event for the first time in two decades: Dwight Yoakam (last appeared in 2004), Kelly Clarkson (2004), and Cross Canadian Ragweed (2006). Riley Green will also deliver his second consecutive performance after a standout performance in 2025.
Other standout moments will include the four female performers who have been tapped for the 2026 roster, including Lizzo, Megan Moroney, Kelly Clarkson, and Lainey Wilson. Plus, for the third year running, the festival will feature two Latin artists, J Balvin and Pepe Aguilar, who will perform on Go Tejano Day, presented by Fiesta Mart. Aguilar, a rising name in regional Mexican music and mariachi, will take the stage following the Go Tejano Mariachi Invitational Championship, sponsored by Miller Lite.
The festival will close with the fourth concert-only show in Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo history on Sunday, March 22. Cody Johnson will headline the milestone night while Jon Pardi and Randy Houser serve as openers.
No rodeo events will precede Johnson’s show, however all of NRG Park’s attractions, like shopping, dining, carnival rides, and livestock competitions will remain open to the public that day.
With a mix of emerging artists, iconic legends, and returning favorites, RODEOHOUSTON® 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting year’s yet.
Tickets for Cody Johnson’s special concert are available now and the remaining dates go on sale January 15 in two waves, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. More information can be found at rodeohouston.com/tickets.
Dylan DeMarcus, son of Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, is proving that musical talent runs deep in the family with the release of his cover of the Rascal Flatts mega-hit “Bless The Broken Road.”
The 13-year-old was inspired to record the song after a video of him singing it, posted by his uncle and Rascal Flatts lead vocalist Gary LeVox, went viral.
“Dylan and I had already begun working on some music for him to release when the time was right. The timing became right after the huge reaction from a couple of posts that Gary was kind enough to showcase on his own platforms,” Jay explained. “We went into the studio last Saturday and rushed to finish this first release.”
Dylan DeMarcus; Photo by Randy Shaffer
While Dylan has been playing and singing for years, this marks his debut track—and it’s a moment his dad couldn’t be prouder of.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my son obviously, but to watch his growth in musicality, and see his passion for it continue to grow over the last couple of years, has been astounding. He has all of the things you can’t teach,” Jay pointed out.
Click below to listen to Dylan DeMarcus’ just-released cover of “Bless The Broken Road,” which was produced by Jay DeMarcus and features his father’s instrumentation on both the keys and electric guitar.
“Bless The Broken Road” was written by Jeff Hanna, Marcus Hummon, and Bobby Boyd. It was originally recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1994 and by Hummon himself in 1995.
Eventually, the song was recorded by supergroup Rascal Flatts for their third studio album, Feels Like Today. Released in November 2004, years before Dylan was even born, the track went on to become a five-week No. 1 single.
Rascal Flatts; Photo by Evan DeStefano
The release comes ahead of Rascal Flatts’ 2026 tour, set to launch on January 15 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The trek will make stops in Knoxville, Nashville, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and more before wrapping up on February 28.
Rascal Flatts will also appear at RodeoHouston and perform at select festivals this summer, including the Voices of America Country Music Festival and Boots and Hearts Music Festival.
Ahead of her third studio LP dropping next month, Megan Moroney amped up the anticipation by revealing the full 15-song track list for Cloud 9.
The MULTI-PLATINUM star took the reveal to new heights with an epic, cloud-nine-coded video that perfectly matched the album’s dreamy aesthetic. Stepping off a custom plane that read “C9MM3,” a nod to Cloud 9 being her third project, Moroney rocked a light pink jump suit, matching heels, and a pink helmet, which held her signature blonde hair underneath.
Megan Moroney; Photo by Amber Asaly
She then looks up to the sky, where she’s met with a stunning scene. The full track list was written across the clouds, spelled out using skywriting. The cinematic moment offered a stunning glimpse into the world of Cloud 9 and only added to the growing excitement surrounding the February 20 release.
The lettering across the sky revealed that the title track will open the project, followed by a mix of unreleased tunes and Country radio hits like the GOLD-certified “6 Months Later”, which is currently sitting at No. 5 on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase Airplay chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and “Beautiful Things”, now living at the No. 35 and No. 32 spots, respectively.
As fans scan through the track list, a few surprises stand out, including two star-studded collaborations. Moroney teams up with Ed Sheeran on “I Only Miss You” and joins forces with country favorite Kacey Musgraves on “Bells & Whistles.” She’s also finally releasing “Wedding Dress,” a longtime fan favorite that’s gone viral multiple times since she first teased it online. The Georgia native also stepped into a co-producer role on both “Wedding Dress” and “Table for Two.”
Today’s announcement is paired with the news that listeners will have the chance to purchase a brand-new vinyl option dubbed, the Tiger Cloud – BTS Edition. This special edition vinyl features exclusive alternate cover art, a gatefold packed with more than 50 never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos, and a special insert pulled straight from her album shoot. More information can be found here.
Megan Moroney’s Cloud 9 era will launch in full force this summer on her a 49-date international headline run of the same name. This trek is quickly becoming one of the most in-demand tours of the year, as the U.S. leg alone sold more than 450,000 tickets almost immediately.
Kicking off on May 29 at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH, the Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records singer/songwriter will make her way to major arenas throughout North America, Europe, and the UK, including United Center in Chicago (June 2 and 3), State Farm Arena in Atlanta (June 8 and 9), TD Garden in Boston (July 6 and 7), Barclays Center inNew York City (July 9), Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (August 7 and 8), and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (August 21 and 22).
Megan Moroney THE CLOUD 9 TOUR
Cloud 9 Tracklist:
1. “Cloud 9” (Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Ernest Keith Smith)* 2. “Medicine”(Megan Moroney, Connie Harrington, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jessi Alexander)* 3. “6 Months Later”(Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Rob Hatch, and David “Messy” Mescon)* 4. “Stupid”(Megan Moroney, Amy Allen, and David “Messy” Mescon)* 5. “Beautiful Things”(Megan Moroney, Connie Harrington, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jessi Alexander)* 6. “Convincing”(Megan Moroney, Connie Harrington, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jessi Alexander)* 7. “Liars & Tigers & Bears”(Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon)* 8. “I Only Miss You (ft. Ed Sheeran)”(Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, Micah Carpenter, and Ed Sheeran)* 9. “Wedding Dress”(Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, and Colin Healy)+ 10. “Change of Heart”(Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter)* 11. “Bells & Whistles (ft. Kacey Musgraves)”(Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter)* 12. “Table for Two”(Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter)^ 13. “Wish I Didn’t”(Megan Moroney, Emily Weisband, Hillary Lindsey, and Luke Laird)* 14. “Who Hurt You?”(Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon)* 15. “Waiting on the Rain”(Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon)*
* Produced by Kristian Bush + Produced by Luke Laird and Megan Moroney, additional production by Kristian Bush ^ Produced by Luke Laird and Megan Moroney
Parmalee is already setting the tone for the new year, ready to deliver a heavy dose of music, including some surprise collaborations.
The hitmaking group recently co-hosted a weekend of Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton, where they expanded on their plans for 2026. They noted that fans can expect them to unveil songs “more frequently” than ever before, potentially as often as “every 5 or 6 weeks.”
Parmalee; Photo by Ryan Young
“People want to hear new songs. We want to be able to release songs as we get them. Plus, I have some collabs on my plate. So that’s what we’re looking forward to the most,” they shared.
With all these new tunes on the way, Helton couldn’t help but ask if that meant another project was also in the near future. Their response indicated that after getting the ball rolling with a few singles this year, a bigger project is likely, however they’re unsure exactly what it will look like.
“Hopefully, once we get that started, we’ll have enough for whatever the project is. We want to have something on deck because people want new stuff all the time.”
Their first release after 2025’s Feels Like Home found Parmalee exploring a more emotional side with “How Do I Let You Go,” a powerful song that digs into themes of grief, loss, and the struggle to say goodbye to someone who has passed away. The band admitted to drawing a personal connection to the lyrics, stating that the song is their way of remembering and honoring their late fathers.
While on Country Countdown USA, Parmalee explained that this track was their opportunity to switch gears a bit and touch on some “real life things.”
“So we got to talking about people we lost too soon. My dad passed 2006, before we got a record deal. This is a note to our dads saying we wish you were here,” they shared.
While Parmalee gets ready for an exciting 2026, they’re also still riding the momentum of “Cowgirl,” the lead single from their latest project, which recently scored them their sixth No. 1 (fifth consecutive) at country radio. It not only topped the charts but also became their longest-running No. 1 on Stoney Creek Records, dominating both Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase.
The high-energy tune spent four weeks atop the Billboard Country Airplay chart—the longest-running No. 1 by a group of three or more members in nearly 14 years—and two weeks at number one on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart. This feat makes Parmalee the only band over the past year to hold the No. 1 spot on Country Airplay for multiple weeks.
Reflecting on the life this song has taken on, they took to social media to say, “Bringing in the new year with the #1 song in the country is an amazing feeling. Not only that but a 4 week billboard number #1 and a multi-week mediabase #1. It’s great to see this song connect with so many of y’all and continue to grow! Thank you guys for making 2025 an amazing year and cheers to 2026 yall! 🤠🤠”
Fresh off their “Feels Like Home” Tour, Parmalee is hitting the ground running in 2026, ready to deliver fresh music and tour stops for their fans. Their next performances will take place across three back-to-back nights in Rutland, VT (Feb. 19)., Foxborough, MA (Feb. 20), and Jordan, NY (Feb. 21).
After hearing high demand from fans for weeks, Brandon Lake and Cody Johnson have finally teamed up for a brand-new version of “When A Cowboy Prays.” The collaboration brings together Lake’s faith-driven songwriting and Johnson’s unmistakable cowboy spirit, turning an already emotional song into something even more powerful.
Lake originally released “When A Cowboy Prays” as a solo track back in September. The humble tune instantly struck a chord with listeners with its prayerful imagery and angelic melody. As fans continued to latch on, they began flooding Lake with requests to record another version with a true cowboy, Cody Johnson. It was their constant persuasion that made that wish became reality.
When A Cowboy Prays – Brandon Lake, Cody Johnson
“Brandon apparently played this song sometime back and called me and said, ‘would you be willing to be on the song?’ because you demanded it,” Johnson said in a new clip, speaking directly to fans.
Lake chimed in to say, “Y’all broke the internet.”
The country star continued, “I immediately said yes. I’m a huge fan. It’s called ‘When A Cowboy Prays.’ Cody Johnson, Brandon Lake. You said it, you got it.”
Photo Courtesy of Brandon Lake, Cody Johnson
The soothing sound that emerges from the delicate guitar stums and drumbeats offers the perfect foundation for the imagery that the artists portray. They come together with a set of powerful harmonies to paint a picture of a cowboy who bares great humility when he turns to prayer in his everyday life.
It depicts prayer not as something loud or showy, but as simple, honest, and deeply personal, while connecting faith to rural life and working-class traditions. At its heart, the song suggests that even the quietest prayers have real impact, symbolized by rain falling in Oklahoma, families being reunited, and even stubborn horses finally breaking.
“When a cowboy prays/ It starts raining in Oklahoma/ Long-lost sons come home to mama/ And those stubborn horses break/ When a cowboy prays/ It’s a whisper and a rumble/ And it’s as strong as it is humble/ This old world just ain’t the same/ When a cowboy prays,” Lake and Johnson sing.
Lake admitted that hearing Johnson’s voice on the song took it to another level.
“The one and only @codyjohnson yall!!! I could not be more HONORED & PROUD of this version of “When A Cowboy Prays.” I tear up every time I listen! So thankful for this collab and this friendship,” he shared before adding, “Cowboy or not, I’m praying it blesses every one of you and reminds ya the power of prayer.”
Johnson echoed that sentiment in a previous post, writing “Can’t wait for y’all to hear this… Honored to be part of such an incredible song.”
Even though the song has only been available for a few hours, fans are already calling it a “SONG OF THE YEAR!!” and claiming it to be “Perfect❤️🙌.”
There has been no word on whether or not the two artists will have the chance to perform “When A Cowboy Prays” live in the near future, however they both will be spending a good amount of time on the road this year on their respective tours.
Beginning in March, Brandon Lake will continue his King of Hearts Tour while Cody Johnson will launch his 2026 run in February.
The style of that performance is part of the substance, not just its packaging. On Jan. 4, 2026, on ABC’s This Week, that style shifted abruptly for the U.S.
Anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain President Donald Trump’s declaration that “the United States is going to run Venezuela.” Under what authority, Stephanopoulos asked, could such a claim possibly stand?
Rubio dodged the question. He just said that the United States would enact “a quarantine on their oil.” Venezuela’s economy would remain frozen, unable “to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met.”
Rubio’s point presumed authority rather than pausing to justify it. It was a diplomacy of dominance – coercion dressed up as concern. The unspoken assumption was pure wishful thinking: that “national interest” would immediately prevail, flowing smoothly in all directions.
As a historian of the early republic and the author of a biography of George Washington, I’ve been reminded these days of how Washington – amid harsh storms unlike anything the country faces today – forged a vision that treated restraint, not self-justifying unilateralism, as the truest measure of American national interest.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos interviewed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Jan. 4, 2026.
The young nation was humiliated before it was strong. George Washington understood that humiliation intimately. Independence had freed America from Britain, but not from the world.
“Would to Heaven we had a navy,” he confessed to the Marquis de Lafayette in 1786, longing for ships “to reform those enemies to mankind, or crush them into nonexistence.” But such a fierce wish never became Washington’s foreign policy. Visibility invited peril; peril required composure.
In 1785, two American merchant vessels – the Maria of Boston and the Dauphin of Philadelphia – were captured by Algerian cruisers. Twenty-one sailors were chained, stripped and sold into slavery. Their families begged the government to pay ransom. Negotiators proposed paying tribute, a kind of protection-in-advance payment system. The price kept rising.
President Washington refused to be rushed by either pity or anger. Paying the extravagant sum, he warned his cabinet in 1789, “might establish a precedent which would always operate and be very burthensome if yielded to.”
Precedent mattered to Washington. A republic must measure not only what it can afford, but what it will be forced to feel tomorrow because of what it pays today.
Washington feared that habit of nearsightedness in foreign affairs precisely because he believed it corrupted empires – and could corrupt republics as well.
Neutrality as ‘emotional discipline’
The storms soon multiplied.
By 1793, Europe was already “pregnant with great events,” Washington wrote to Lafayette. The French Revolution, welcomed at first as a triumph of “The Rights of Man,” slid into terror and general war.
Citizen Genet, the French envoy to the United States, landed in Charleston, South Carolina, and proceeded to enlist American citizens’ help in France’s war with Britain by commissioning privateers in U.S. ports to prey on British ships. Genet did not request permission to do this from Washington.
Gratitude to France – indispensable ally during the Revolution, provider of fleets, soldiers and hard-to-forget loans – clashed with alarm at her new demands. A single misstep could have dragged the United States into another catastrophic conflict.
And yet, Washington responded to Genet not with rashness and bravado but with restraint made public law.
President Washington knew that the road to successful pursuit of national interests was paved with international credibility.
Washington wanted America “to be little heard of in the great world of Politics,” preferring instead “to exchange Commodities & live in peace & amity with all the inhabitants of the earth.”
The first president pitched the republic’s voice toward ordinary people rather than rival powers. He spoke of “inhabitants,” not foreign enemies. He treated restraint – not self-justifying unilateralism – as the truest measure of national interest.
At his presidency’s end, George Washington wrote to fellow statesman Gouverneur Morris, ‘My policy has been, and will continue… to be upon friendly terms with, but independent of, all the nations of the earth.’ Library of Congress
On March 4, 1797, he would leave the presidency. His final creed was simple and devout: “My policy has been, and will continue … to be upon friendly terms with, but independent of, all the nations of the earth.”
For Washington, friendliness was a strategy, not a concession. The republic would treat other nations with civility precisely in order to remain independent of their appetites and quarrels.
Yet foreign policy has never been only a ledger of advantage. It is also a civic mirror: the emotional register of a government that tells citizens what kind of nation is acting in their name, and whether it tries to balance national interest with responsibilities to others.
Washington believed America’s legitimacy abroad depended on patience and respect for the autonomy of others. The current approach to Caracas announces a different imagination: a power that boasts of quarantines, sets conditions – and calls the result partnership.
A republic must still defend its interests. But I believe it should also defend the temperament that made those interests compatible with independence in the first place. Washington’s America learned to stand among stronger powers without demanding to run them.
The question asked on “This Week,” then, is only the beginning.
The deeper question remains whether the United States will continue to perform power with the discipline of a constitutional republic – or surrender that discipline to the easy allure of what seems to only serve national interest, but fails to build credibility or relationships that endure.
Maurizio Valsania does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
