Charles Kelley, a member of Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his personal journey to sobriety. However, there is one particular incident that he has never directly disclosed until recently. This incident involves the time when he was dangerously close to receiving a DUI after driving under the influence.
In an interview on Elizabeth Vargas' Heart of the Matter podcast, Kelley acknowledges that when he consumed alcohol, it became a regular thing for him to have "four or five drinks" while playing golf and then drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that they were intoxicated while driving on their way home. Although the journey only lasted 10 minutes, there were instances where Kelley realized how foolish and perilous their actions were. The following day, Kelley reflected on the situation and realized the potential consequences, acknowledging that they could have caused harm to others 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, 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 the day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. As the night neared its end, fellow customers at the bar began to worry and question whether Kelley intended to drive home.
"I thought to myself, 'If I don't drive back home, my wife will ask me, '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 determination to return home on his own, he discreetly left the bar through the rear exit and started driving away. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the police during the extremely brief trip to his house.
The police officer glanced at my driver's license and asked, "Are you the person in that band?" I responded affirmatively. Instead of arresting me for driving under the influence, the officer instructed me to pull over and kindly drove me the remaining distance to my home. Surprisingly, he didn't issue me a ticket or any sort of punishment. I was astonished and relieved, thinking to myself, "Wow, I narrowly escaped a potentially serious situation."
However, the occurrence served as a sudden realization for Kelley, prompting him to understand the importance of informing his wife about what had transpired.
The singer expresses their feelings of being completely exhausted after a recent incident where they were pulled over. They feared that their actions could have potentially ruined their life and caused a lot of chaos for their band. They were well aware that it would have generated negative publicity, which they wanted to avoid at all costs.
He made a firm decision to quit drinking alcohol and struggled for three months without giving in to his cravings. However, he eventually fell back into his old habits of drinking. It took another year for him to finally seek professional help and fully dedicate himself to a life of sobriety.
Following his time in rehabilitation, it didn't take Kelly much time to inform Lady A fans about his struggle with alcohol. The country trio was transparent with their fanbase regarding the postponement of their 2022 Request Line Tour, attributing it to the need to safeguard Kelley's early stages of sobriety. It was Kelley's choice to be honest about this matter. On the other hand, his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood proposed creating alternative justifications for the band's decision not to embark on the tour.
Kelley expressed that she was not ashamed and wanted to be honest about her experiences. She 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 chose to face her challenges head-on. Kelley mentioned that she was grateful for this turning point in her life, which led her to decide to share her story. As a result, her decision to open up about her struggles has had a positive and beneficial impact on her life.
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