Charles Kelley, member of Lady A, has been open and honest with his fans about his personal journey towards sobriety. However, there is one specific incident that he had never directly addressed until recently. Kelley revealed that there was a time when he came close to receiving a DUI charge due to driving under the influence.
Kelley, in an interview on Elizabeth Vargas' Heart of the Matter podcast, confesses that when he was consuming alcohol, it became a regular habit for him to consume "four or five drinks" while playing golf in a single day, and then he would proceed to drive himself back home.
Kelley confesses that they were driving under the influence on their way home. Despite it being a short 10-minute drive, there were several instances where they realized the extreme foolishness and danger of their actions. The following day, Kelley reflects on the situation and realizes the potential harm they could have caused to others or even themselves.
On one specific occasion, Kelley came very close to being charged with a DUI. He recollects that it happened during the Christmas season when his wife Cassie and their son Ward were away for a few days. This gave him the freedom to consume as much alcohol as he pleased without any family responsibilities. He spent his day playing golf and drinking at a nearby bar. Towards the end of the night, other customers at the bar began expressing worry about whether or not Kelley intended to drive himself back home.
He recalls, "I thought to myself, if I don't go back home by driving, my wife will question me about the whereabouts of my car. Even though I could have retrieved it the following morning without her knowing, as she wasn't present."
However, with a strong resolve to return home alone, he discreetly left through the rear exit of the bar and began driving. Within a brief distance to his house, he was stopped by the police.
The police officer examined 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 park my car and personally drove me home. He didn't issue me a ticket or any penalties. I was amazed and relieved, thinking I had narrowly escaped a troublesome situation.
Nevertheless, the occurrence served as a reminder for Kelley that he needed to inform his spouse about the incident.
The singer expressed their feelings of being completely exhausted and done with the situation. They had just been pulled over and realized that their actions could have potentially ruined their life and caused a lot of chaos for the band. They were aware that it would have resulted in negative press, which would have been terrible.
He made a promise to himself to stop drinking alcohol and tried really hard for three months, but eventually he fell back into his old habits of drinking. It took another year before he finally decided to 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, explaining that the postponement of their 2022 Request Line Tour was primarily to safeguard Kelley's early stages of sobriety. This decision to be honest was made by Kelley himself, whereas his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood proposed alternative explanations for the band's tour cancellation.
Kelley expressed that she had no shame in admitting that what she was about to do was extremely difficult. Instead of taking the easy way out by continuing to drink excessively and destroying everything in her life, she chose to face her problems head-on. Kelley mentioned that she felt grateful for this experience, which marked a turning point for her. It was at this moment that she decided to share her story, and she has seen a positive and beneficial outcome from doing so.
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
Additional content from Taste of Country can be found here. For more information, please