Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has always been open with his fans about his path to sobriety. However, there was one specific event that he had never directly addressed until recently. Kelley has revealed that he came very close to receiving a DUI charge after 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 in a single day, and afterward, he would drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that she was operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Although the distance she had to cover was only a 10-minute drive, there were instances during the journey where she realized the extreme foolishness and potential harm of her actions. The following day, she realized the gravity of the situation and the fact that she could have caused the death of another person or even herself.
On a specific occasion, Kelley had a close call 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, giving him the freedom to consume alcohol without any familial responsibilities. Kelley spent a day playing golf and enjoying drinks at a nearby bar. As the night neared its end, fellow customers began expressing worries about whether Kelley intended to drive back home.
"I thought to myself, 'If I don't drive back, my wife will ask, 'Where's your car?'' Even though I could have picked it up the next morning. She wouldn't have been aware of it since she wasn't present," he recalls.
However, with a strong resolve to return home alone, he stealthily exited through the rear exit of the bar and proceeded to drive away. Unfortunately, during the brief journey to his house, he was stopped by the police.
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 stop my car and personally drove me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any punishment. I was completely surprised and relieved that I didn't face any consequences.
However, the incident served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about the situation.
The singer expresses their feelings of being completely exhausted and fed up, saying that they were ready to give up. They had just been pulled over and felt like their life was on the line. They believed that their actions would bring negative attention to the band and create a lot of chaos, which they wanted to avoid at all costs.
He made a firm decision to stop drinking alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation, but eventually fell back into his previous habit of drinking. It took another year for him to finally seek help and fully dedicate himself to maintaining sobriety.
Following his rehabilitation, it didn't take much time for Kelly to share his struggles with alcohol with Lady A fans. The country trio was transparent about the fact that they postponed their 2022 Request Line Tour in order to prioritize Kelley's early stages of sobriety. This decision to be honest with the fans was made by Kelley himself. Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, his bandmates, had initially proposed using different explanations for the band's absence on tour.
"I told myself, 'No, let's be truthful … I have no shame in this … This is the most difficult thing I have ever done.' It would have been easier to continue drinking and destroy everything. I expressed gratitude for this situation," Kelley explains. "… And that was the moment when I decided to share it. So, it has gradually gained momentum in a very positive and beneficial manner."
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