Charles Kelley, a member of Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his path to sobriety. However, there is one specific incident that he has never publicly addressed until recently. Kelley has revealed that there was a time when he came close to receiving a DUI while 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 have "four or five drinks" while playing golf, and then he would drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that they were driving while under the influence of alcohol. The distance they had to cover was only ten minutes, but there were instances during the journey where they realized how foolish and risky their actions were. The following day, they experienced a moment of realization, acknowledging the potential consequences of their actions, such as causing harm to others or even their own life.
On one specific occasion, Kelley had a close call with getting charged with driving under the influence (DUI). He recalls that it happened during the Christmas season when his wife Cassie and son Ward were away for a few days, giving him the freedom to drink as much as he pleased without any family responsibilities. Kelley spent a day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. Towards the end of the evening, some of the other customers at the bar began expressing worry about whether Kelley intended to drive himself home.
"I thought to myself, 'If I don't drive back, my wife will ask, 'Where's your car?' even though I could have easily gotten it the next morning. She wouldn't have been aware since she wasn't present," he recalls.
However, with a strong resolve to return home by himself, he discreetly left through the rear exit of the bar and departed in his car. Unfortunately, during the extremely brief journey back to his residence, he was stopped by the police.
The police officer inspected my driver's license and asked me if I was the person from that music group. I confirmed that I was indeed part of the band. Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to park my car and personally drove me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or take any further action. I was amazed and relieved that I had narrowly avoided a potentially serious consequence.
However, the occurrence served as a moment of realization for Kelley, prompting him to understand that he needed to inform his spouse about the incident.
The singer expressed their feelings of being completely finished and exhausted. They had just been pulled over and felt that 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 didn't want.
He made a solemn promise to himself to stop consuming alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation, but eventually succumbed to his previous habits of drinking. It took another year before he finally sought help and wholeheartedly dedicated himself to living a sober lifestyle.
Following his rehabilitation, it didn't take much time for Kelly to inform Lady A fans about his struggle with alcohol. The country trio was transparent with their fanbase, explaining that the postponement of their 2022 Request Line Tour was to ensure Kelley's recently acquired sobriety remained intact. This decision to be honest was made by Kelley himself. Although his bandmates, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, proposed creating alternative reasons for the tour's 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 destroying everything, she made the decision to be honest and face the situation. She mentioned feeling grateful for this experience, which marked a turning point for her. As a result, she decided to share her story, and it has since gained momentum in a positive and beneficial manner.
Here are 18 country artists who have chosen to live a sober lifestyle. Additionally, we have compiled a list of 11 great country songs that revolve around the theme
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