NEED TO KNOW
Riley Green admits he fully expected a blast from the past after being crowned PEOPLE’s Sexiest Country Star Alive — but the texts he imagined never came.
Green earned the title last year through PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive Readers’ Choice Poll, and at 37, he figured the honor might stir up a little nostalgia among former flames. Speaking with Taste of Country Nights, he laughed that his expectations didn’t exactly pan out.
“I kind of thought I’d hear from some ex-girlfriends,” he said. “You know, maybe a text or something. Like a ‘yeah, take that.’ But nope — it was just my buddies back home giving me a hard time.”
Even without the dramatic reactions he imagined, Green said he still had a fitting soundtrack playing in his head: How Do You Like Me Now?! by Toby Keith.
The 1999 hit tells the story of being overlooked in high school, only to wonder years later if the same person might feel differently now — a comparison Green found amusing given the circumstances.
He shared a similar sentiment when he spoke to PEOPLE at the CMA Awards in Nashville this past November. Once again, the reaction to his “sexiest” title came mostly in the form of friendly roasting.
“I haven’t really gotten anything out of it,” he said at the time. “Just a bunch of texts from my buddies messing with me.”
Green — who has been linked to fellow country artists Ella Langley and Megan Moroney — also joked that his demanding tour schedule doesn’t exactly make dating easy.
“Any girl that meets me, after about two weeks of seeing how much I’m gone, she’s usually ready to head the other direction,” he said. “So it’s really no big deal. And honestly, fending off women isn’t as hard as people think.”
Green beat out Warren Zeiders, Shaboozey, and Cody Johnson for the PEOPLE title.
Musically, it’s been a banner year for him. His album Don’t Mind If I Do dropped in October 2024, and at the CMAs he walked away with three major wins — all for his duet with Ella Langley, You Look Like You Love Me — taking home Single of the Year, Song of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.
No texts from exes — but plenty of trophies, teasing friends, and chart-topping success. Not a bad trade.