Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his personal struggle with sobriety. However, there is one particular event that he has never discussed directly until recently. Kelley revealed that he had a close call with a DUI when he was driving under the influence.
In an interview on Elizabeth Vargas' Heart of the Matter podcast, Kelley confesses that when he consumed alcohol, it became a regular habit for him to consume "four or five drinks" while playing golf and then drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that she was operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol while driving back to her residence. Despite the short duration of the journey, she experienced a few instances where she realized the extreme foolishness and riskiness of her actions. The following day, she realized the potential consequences of her behavior, acknowledging that she could have caused harm to another person or even herself.
On a specific occasion, Kelley narrowly avoided being charged with a DUI. This happened during the Christmas season when his wife Cassie and son Ward were away for a few days, giving him the freedom to consume alcohol without any responsibilities to his family. Kelley enjoyed a day of golf and drinking at a nearby bar. As the night progressed, fellow customers at the bar began expressing worry about Kelley's intention to drive himself home.
He recalls, "I thought to myself, if I don't drive back, my wife will ask where my car is. Even though I could have retrieved it the following morning without her knowing since she wasn't present."
However, with a strong determination to return home alone, he managed to leave the bar discreetly through the back exit and started driving towards his house. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the police during the brief journey back.
The police officer glanced at my driver's license and asked, "Are you the person in that musical group?" I replied affirmatively. Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to park my car and kindly drove me home. He didn't issue me a citation or any form of penalty. I was amazed and relieved that I had narrowly avoided trouble.
However, the incident served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about what had occurred.
The singer expresses their feelings by saying that they were completely worn out and had reached their limit. They had just been pulled over and realized that their actions could have potentially ruined their life and caused a lot of trouble for the band. They acknowledge that it would have resulted in negative publicity, which would have been really unfortunate.
After making a promise to himself, he decided to quit drinking and endured a challenging period of three months where he resisted the temptation to drink. However, he eventually found himself returning to his previous habits of drinking. It took another year before he finally sought professional help and made a wholehearted commitment to leading
Following his time in rehab, it didn't take Kelly much time to share with Lady A fans about his struggle with alcohol. The country trio chose to be transparent with their fanbase, revealing that they postponed their 2022 Request Line Tour in order to prioritize Kelley's early stages of sobriety. It was Kelley himself who made the decision to be honest about the situation. On the other hand, his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood proposed coming up with alternative reasons for the band's tour delay.
Kelley expressed that she did not feel ashamed and wanted to be honest about her experience, stating that it was the most difficult thing she had ever done. Instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to drink and destroying everything, she chose to be grateful for her situation. This shift in mindset marked a turning point for her, leading her to decide to share her story. Since then, the response has been overwhelmingly positive and it has gained momentum in a beneficial way.
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