Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his path to sobriety. However, there is one particular incident that he has never mentioned directly until recently. Kelley has now revealed that there was a time when he came close to receiving a DUI while driving under the influence.
In an interview on Elizabeth Vargas' Heart of the Matter podcast, Kelley confesses that when he was consuming alcohol, it became habitual for him to consume "four or five drinks" while playing golf in a single day and then drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that she was operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The journey only lasted for 10 minutes, but there were instances where she realized the extreme foolishness and danger of her actions. The following day, she reflected upon the situation and was struck by the realization that she could have caused harm to someone else or even lost her own life.
On a 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 consume alcohol without any familial responsibilities. He spent a day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. As the night came to a close, other customers at the bar began to worry about whether Kelley intended to drive home.
The person recalls, "I thought to myself, if I don't drive back, my wife will ask me where my car is. Even though I could have retrieved it the following morning, she wouldn't have been aware of it since she wasn't present."
However, with a strong resolve to return home alone, he discreetly left the bar through the rear exit and proceeded to drive away. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the police during the extremely brief journey back to his residence.
The police officer checked my driver's license and asked, "Are you the person in that band?" I replied, "Yes." Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to stop my car and offered to drive me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any penalties. I was shocked and relieved that I had avoided trouble.
Nevertheless, the occurrence served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about the incident.
The singer expressed their frustration and exhaustion after an incident where they were pulled over, feeling like they had almost caused irreversible damage to their life and brought unnecessary turmoil to the band. They were aware that such a situation would have resulted in negative publicity for them.
He made a firm decision to stop drinking alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation. However, he eventually fell back into his old habits of drinking. It took another year for him to finally seek help and fully dedicate himself to a life of sobriety.
Following his rehabilitation, it didn't take much time for Kelly to reveal his struggle with alcohol to Lady A fans. The country trio was transparent with their fanbase about the decision to postpone their 2022 Request Line Tour, as they wanted to prioritize Kelley's early stages of sobriety. This decision to be honest was solely made by Kelley. On the other hand, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood proposed creating alternative reasons for the band's absence from the tour.
Kelley expressed that she was not ashamed of her actions and believed in being honest about them. She acknowledged that what she was going through was extremely challenging but she chose not to take the easy way out by continuing to drink and causing destruction. Instead, she expressed gratitude for her experience, which marked a turning point in her decision to share her story. As a result, her decision to open up about her struggles has had a positive impact and has gained momentum in a beneficial way.
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