Country firebrand Gretchen Wilson has never been one to play it safe — but even she was stunned when she walked away as the surprise champion of The Masked Singer Season 13. Underneath the glamorous Pearl costume was a woman battling years of health struggles, public absence, and an identity the world thought they had figured out. What emerged? A powerful reinvention — one Wilson now proudly calls her comeback.
“I was sure Andy Grammer had won,” Wilson told PEOPLE, still reeling from the announcement. “In my head, I had already decided I was second place — and I was fine with it.” But when host Nick Cannon called her name, Wilson felt a mix of disbelief and maternal guilt. “I almost felt bad,” she said. “I wanted to share it with him.”
But make no mistake — this win means something. “I feel like it’s sort of a comeback moment,” she explained. “I’m ready to take on anything.”
Best known as the gritty “Redneck Woman,” Wilson says stepping into the whimsical, pearl-adorned character on The Masked Singer allowed her to explore a part of herself fans rarely get to see. “People recognize me as the rough-and-tumble girl — no dresses, no makeup,” she said. “But Pearl let me be a girly girl, and that’s a side of me I’ve never really shared.”
After severe COVID complications and a shattered leg left her sidelined and reeling for years, Wilson questioned if she still had what it takes. “I needed to prove to myself that I could still do it… that I still had the breath, the strength, the stage presence,” she said. And she did — in sequins, heels, and layers of heat-trapping costume fabric.
Offstage, Wilson continues to surprise. She’s teaming up with Blake Shelton and Keith Urban on The Road competition show and working with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan on new projects. But don’t expect her to soften completely. “I’m always going to be that crab,” she laughs. “It’s just who I am.”
On family, Wilson is finding new joy. Her 24-year-old daughter Gracie, once disinterested in country music, now shares a strong friendship with her mom. Her son-in-law? Terrified to ask Wilson for her blessing. “He told me, ‘You were the scarier one to talk to,’” she joked.
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As for love? Wilson doesn’t hold back: “Older, no kids, his own money — and definitely someone who can handle all of this. Because let’s face it — I’m a lot.”
Gretchen Wilson may have worn a mask on TV, but make no mistake — she’s more unfiltered, more fearless, and more herself than ever. This isn’t just a return. It’s a reckoning. And country music better be ready.