Lainey Wilson Reveals She Almost Quit ‘Yellowstone’ Before Her First Appearance

Lainey Wilson almost quit Yellowstone early after her father Brian Wilson was hospitalized. In a new podcast interview, the “Heart Like a Truck” singer said her father was “fighting for his life” in a Houston ICU. Brian suffered a stroke last year and lost an eye to an infection.

“In the middle of [the] filming of Yellowstone, my daddy was in the hospital,” Wilson told Dutton Rules podcast host Adison Haager, via PEOPLE. “He spent two months in ICU in Houston, fighting for his life. The doctors told us he’s not gonna make it, there’s a big chance he’s not gonna make it.”

It was a difficult time for Wilson because her career was on the rise while her family was in a crisis. Just before she was ready to quit Yellowstone, Brian woke up. He told her she shouldn’t skip out on a great opportunity, even if she missed his funeral because of it.

“I was in Houston with my daddy standing next to his bed, and I was like, ‘I’m not going to film. I can’t do it. I can’t do it,’” Wilson told Haager. “And he woke up just in time before I really made up my mind, and he said, ‘I don’t care if it was my funeral, if you got a job that needs to be done you’d better go do it and not come back until it’s done.’”

Wilson had to “pull up my bootstraps and I had to think what would he want me to do,” she said. “I had to find that courage from a place I had never actually had [dug] down so deep inside.” The Yellowstone cast and crew also showed their support during filming, frequently asking her for updates on her dad’s health.

Wilson, 30, was forced to cancel two shows in July 2022 while Brian recovered from a medical emergency. A few months later, Wilson told Taste of Country that her father suffered a stroke. He also lost an eye and some bones in his face due to a fungal infection. “He had nine surgeries in a month and a half. He’s not supposed to be here,” Wilson said in October.

Brian joined Wilson as her date for the 2022 CMA Awards in November. She paid tribute to him when she accepted the New Artist of the Year Award. “I want to say, a few months ago my daddy got really sick and we thought we were going to lose him,” Wilson said. “He spent two months in ICU – he’s walking the carpet with me tonight and he’s here. The one right here is for my daddy Brian Wilson – I’m not talking about the Beach Boy, I’m talking about the cowboy.”

Yellowstone marks Wilson‘s acting debut. She joined Season 5 as Abby, an aspiring country singer who is Ryan’s (Ian Bohen) love interest. Wilson connected with co-creator Taylor Sheridan after one of her songs was used in the series. She told PEOPLE that Sheridan wrote Abby specifically for her. “He said, ‘I want you to wear what you wear, sing what you’re singing and pretty much just be yourself. You’re gonna go by Abby. She’s a musician,’” Wilson recalled. “And without even thinking, I just said, ‘Yes, count me in. Let’s do it.’”