Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has openly shared his struggles and progress in achieving sobriety with his fans. However, he has recently disclosed an incident that he had never spoken about before, which was the time he came extremely close to receiving a DUI while he was driving under the influence.
On Elizabeth Vargas' Heart of the Matter podcast, Kelley confesses that when he was drinking, it became a regular thing for him to consume "four or five drinks" while playing golf in a single day, and then he would drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that she was operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Despite the short duration of the drive, there were several instances where she realized the extreme foolishness and perilous nature of her actions. The following day, she reflected on the situation with regret and acknowledged the potential consequences, acknowledging that she could have caused harm to others or even lost her own life.
On a specific occasion, Kelley had a close encounter with being charged with driving under the influence. It happened during the Christmas season, and he recalls that his wife Cassie and son Ward were away for a few days, which meant he had no family responsibilities. With this freedom, he indulged in drinking as much as he pleased, while also spending a day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. As the night neared its end, fellow bar-goers began to worry about whether Kelley intended to drive home.
"And I thought to myself, 'If I don't drive back, my wife will ask me, 'Where's your car?'' Even though I could have retrieved it the following morning. She wouldn't have been aware because she wasn't present," he narrates.
However, with a strong resolve to return home alone, he discreetly left through the rear exit of the bar and drove off. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the police during the extremely brief journey back to his house.
The police officer checked my driver's license and asked if I was the person from that band. I confirmed that I was. Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to pull over and personally drove me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any penalties. I was amazed and relieved that I had managed to avoid a potentially dire situation.
However, the occurrence served as a reminder that Kelley needed to inform his spouse about the incident.
The singer expresses their feelings by saying that they were completely exhausted and had reached a point where they were done with everything. They had just been pulled over and it felt like their whole life was on the verge of being ruined. They were also aware of the negative impact it would have on the band, causing a lot of chaos and generating terrible publicity.
He made a firm decision to stop consuming alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation, but eventually relapsed into his previous drinking habits. It took him another year before he finally sought professional help and fully dedicated himself to living a sober life.
Following his time in rehab, it didn't take much time for Kelly to reveal to Lady A fans about his struggle with alcohol. The country trio was transparent with their fanbase, explaining that the primary reason for postponing their 2022 Request Line Tour was to safeguard Kelley's recent progress in sobriety. This decision to be honest was made by Kelley himself. While Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood proposed alternative explanations for why the band couldn't go on tour, Kelley opted for transparency.
In her own words, Kelley expressed that she had no shame in admitting the truth and acknowledged that this was the most challenging experience she had ever faced. Instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to drink and destroying everything, she decided to be grateful for the situation. This change in perspective marked a turning point for her, and she realized that she was now ready to share her story. As a result, things have been progressing in a very positive and beneficial manner.
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