Charles Kelley, a member of the band Lady A, has openly shared his personal struggle with sobriety. However, there is a particular incident that he has never addressed directly until recently – the moment when he came dangerously close to receiving a DUI while driving under the influence of alcohol.
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 proceed to drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that they were operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The distance they had to cover was only 10 minutes, but there were instances during the drive where Kelley realized the extreme foolishness and danger of their actions. The following day, Kelley reflected on the situation and realized the potential consequences, acknowledging that they could have caused harm to someone else or even lost their own life.
On a specific occasion, Kelley had a close call with being charged with a DUI. It happened during the Christmas season, as he recalls, when his wife Cassie and son Ward were away for a few days. This gave Kelley the freedom to consume alcohol without any responsibilities towards his family. He spent a day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. As the night neared its end, other people at the bar began to worry about whether Kelley intended to drive home.
He recalls thinking, "If I don't go back and drive my car, my wife will question me about its whereabouts." He could have easily retrieved it the following morning without her knowing since she wasn't present.
However, with a strong determination to return home alone, he carefully sneaked out through the rear exit of the bar and proceeded to drive away. However, his journey was abruptly interrupted as he was stopped by law enforcement on the extremely brief distance to his house.
The police officer checked my driver's license and asked if I was the person in that band. 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 on the side of the road and kindly drove me the rest of the way home. Surprisingly, he didn't issue me a ticket or any punishment. I was amazed and relieved at the same time, realizing that I had narrowly escaped a potentially serious situation.
However, the occurrence served as a realization for Kelley, prompting him to understand the importance of informing his wife about what had transpired.
The singer expresses their feeling of being completely fed up and tired. They explain that they had just been stopped by the police, and they realized that their actions could have potentially had disastrous consequences for their life and caused a lot of trouble for their band. They acknowledge that it would have resulted in negative publicity, which they want to avoid.
He made a firm decision to stop drinking alcohol and struggled for three months to resist the temptation, but eventually he fell back into his previous habits of drinking. It took another year before he finally sought professional help and fully dedicated himself to living a sober life.
Following his rehabilitation, it didn't take much time for Kelly to share with Lady A fans about his struggle with alcohol. 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. This decision to be honest with their fans was made by Kelley himself. Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, his bandmates, had initially proposed creating alternative explanations for why the band was not embarking on the tour.
Kelley expressed that she was not ashamed of her decision and believed in being honest about it. She acknowledged that what she was going through was extremely challenging. Instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to drink and destroying everything, she chose to face her problems head-on. She mentioned feeling grateful for her experience, which marked a turning point for her. This led her to decide to share her story with others. As a result, her decision to be open about her journey has had a positive and beneficial impact.
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