Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his personal journey towards sobriety. However, there is one particular incident that he has never directly addressed until recently: the moment when he came close to receiving a DUI while driving under the influence.
When Kelley was a guest on Elizabeth Vargas' Heart of the Matter podcast, he confesses that when he used to drink, it became a regular thing for him to consume "four or five drinks" while playing golf, and then he would drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that they were driving under the influence while heading home. Despite the short duration of the journey, there were instances where they realized the extreme foolishness and danger of their actions. Reflecting on the incident the following day, Kelley expressed profound remorse, realizing the potential consequences of their reckless behavior, including causing harm to others or even losing their own life.
On a specific occasion, Kelley had a close call with being charged with driving under the influence. It was 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 familial responsibilities. With this freedom, he spent a day playing golf and consuming alcohol at a nearby bar. As the night progressed, fellow customers began to worry about whether Kelley intended to drive home.
"I thought to myself, 'If I don't drive back, my wife will ask, 'Where's your car?' even though I could have just gotten it the next morning. She wouldn't have known since she wasn't there," he explains.
However, with a strong determination to go home alone, he discreetly left through the rear exit of the bar and proceeded to drive away. Unfortunately, while he was on the brief journey back to his residence, he was stopped by law enforcement.
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 personally drove me the remaining distance to my home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any penalties. I was amazed and relieved at how lucky I was to have avoided trouble.
However, the occurrence served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about the incident.
The singer expressed their feelings of exhaustion and frustration after being pulled over, feeling like they had almost destroyed their life and caused a lot of trouble for their band. They were aware that it would have resulted in negative publicity, which they definitely wanted to avoid.
He made a firm decision to stop drinking alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation, but eventually relapsed into his previous drinking habits. It took him another year to finally seek professional help and fully dedicate himself to achieving sobriety.
Following his stint in rehab, it didn't take long for Kelly to share his struggle with alcohol with Lady A fans. The country trio was transparent with their fanbase, explaining that they had postponed their 2022 Request Line Tour in order to prioritize Kelley's early stages of sobriety. Kelley made the decision to be honest about his situation, while his bandmates, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, had initially proposed using alternative reasons for the tour delay.
Kelley expressed that she was not ashamed of her actions and acknowledged that what she was going through was extremely difficult. Instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to drink and causing further destruction, she made the decision to face her problems head-on. She mentioned feeling grateful for the situation, which marked a significant turning point for her. This realization led her to open up and share her experiences with others, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
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