Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his personal struggle with addiction and his path to sobriety. However, there is one particular incident that he has never discussed directly until recently. Kelley has now revealed that there was a time when he was dangerously close to getting a DUI while driving under the influence.
In an interview on Elizabeth Vargas' podcast, Heart of the Matter, Kelley confesses that when he consumed alcohol, it became a regular habit for him to have "four or five drinks" while playing golf and then proceed to drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that she was driving under the influence while heading home. Despite the short duration of the drive, there were instances where she realized how foolish and perilous her actions were. The following day, she reflected on the situation and realized the potential consequences, acknowledging that she could have caused harm to someone else or even lost her own life.
On one 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 responsibilities towards his family. He spent a day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar, and as the night came to an end, fellow customers began to worry about whether Kelley intended to drive back home.
He recalls thinking to himself, "If I don't drive back, my wife will ask me where my car is." Even though he could have retrieved the car the following morning without her noticing, she was not present at the time.
However, with a strong resolve to make his way back home alone, he discreetly left through the rear exit of the bar and started driving. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the police during the extremely brief journey to his house.
The police officer glanced at my driver's license and asked, "Are you the person in that music band?" I replied affirmatively, saying, "Yes." Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to pull over and offered to drive me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any kind of fine. I was amazed and relieved, thinking to myself, "Wow, that was a close call."
However, the occurrence served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about the incident.
The singer expressed feeling completely exhausted and at the point of giving up. They had recently been pulled over by the police, which had brought them dangerously close to ruining their life. Additionally, they acknowledged that their actions could have caused a lot of negative attention and chaos for their band.
He made a firm decision to stop consuming alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation, but eventually relapsed and fell back into his previous drinking habits. It took him another year before he finally sought help and fully dedicated himself to getting sober.
Following his rehabilitation, it didn't take much time for Kelly to share his struggle with alcohol with 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 nascent sobriety. This decision to be honest was made by Kelley himself, while his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood had proposed concocting alternative reasons for the band's absence on tour.
"I told myself, 'No, let's be honest … I'm not ashamed of this … This is the most difficult thing I have ever done,'" Kelley shares. "The easier option would have been to continue drinking and let everything fall apart. I said, 'I am thankful for this,'" Kelley continues. "… And that was when I realized, 'Okay, I guess I'm going to share it now.' So it has gradually gained momentum in a very positive and beneficial manner."
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