Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his personal struggle with alcohol and his path to sobriety. However, there is one particular incident that he has not previously discussed in detail until recently. This incident involves the time when he came close to receiving a DUI while driving under the influence of alcohol.
In an interview with Elizabeth Vargas on her podcast Heart of the Matter, Kelley confesses that when he consumed alcohol, it became a regular thing for him to have "four or five drinks" while playing golf and then drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that she was operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The distance she had to travel was relatively short, approximately ten minutes, but there were instances during the drive where she realized the extreme foolishness and perilous nature of her actions. The following day, she experienced a profound realization of the potential consequences of her recklessness, acknowledging that she could have caused harm to others or even lost her own life.
On a specific occasion, Kelley had a close call with being charged with a DUI. It happened during the Christmas season, and he recalls that his wife Cassie and son Ward were away for a few days, giving him the freedom to drink without any family responsibilities. He spent a day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. Towards the end of the night, other people at the bar began to worry about whether or not Kelley intended to drive home.
"I thought to myself, if I don't drive back, my wife will wonder where my car is," he recalls. "Even though I could have retrieved it the next morning without her knowing, she wasn't present at the time."
However, with a strong determination to return home alone, he discreetly left through the rear exit of the bar and embarked on his journey. Unfortunately, during the brief distance he covered on his way back to his house, he was stopped by the police.
The police officer glanced at my driver's license and asked, "Are you the person from that band?" I replied, "Yes." Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to park my car and kindly offered to drive me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any penalties. I was amazed and relieved, thinking to myself, "Wow, that was a close call. I got lucky."
However, the occurrence served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about what had transpired.
The singer expressed feeling completely worn out and fed up, thinking, "I've had enough. This situation is draining. I was just stopped by the police, and it could have easily led to a disastrous outcome that would have caused a lot of trouble for the band." The singer acknowledged that it would have resulted in negative publicity, which would have been highly undesirable.
He made a firm decision to quit drinking and struggled to stay sober for three months, but eventually relapsed and returned to his old drinking habits. It took him another year to finally seek help and fully dedicate himself to achieving sobriety.
Following his time in rehab, it didn't take long for Kelly to reveal his struggle with alcohol to Lady A fans. The country trio was transparent with their loyal supporters, explaining that the primary reason for postponing their 2022 Request Line Tour was to safeguard Kelley's early stages of sobriety. This decision to be honest was made by Kelley himself, while his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood considered offering alternative explanations for the tour's delay.
Kelley expressed that she had no shame in admitting the truth, stating that this was the most difficult thing she had ever done. Instead of taking the easy route of continuing to drink and causing further destruction, she chose to be grateful for the situation. This gratitude served as a turning point for her, leading her to decide to share her experience. As a result, her decision to share has had a positive and beneficial impact.
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