Sobriety will change your life — just ask Lady A’s Charles Kelley.
“My best filter is just…not drinking,” he captioned two photos that show him before and after embracing sobriety. “Swipe to see my before 😬 my wife asked me if I ever look at a photo of myself before I was sober and think ‘who is that guy?’ This is the one 😃”
Kelley continued, “I could go on about the many blessings that have come from putting it down way more than looking healthier, but it’s a nice reminder of a place I don’t wanna go back to.”
The musician has been open about his sobriety journey. In 2022, Lady A announced they would be postponing a tour so that he could attend rehab.
Related: Lady A Postpones Tour to Aid Band Member Charles Kelley in Sobriety Journey
“We are a band, but more importantly we’re family,” the band said in a statement. “We’re proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety. So, right now, in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together. It’s early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together.”
In an interview with CBS, Kelley spoke about how his drinking was affecting his son.
“[My wife] Cassie would tell me some stories about how little things that Ward would say that I didn’t even know he was noticing,” he shared. “You know, ‘Daddy’s talking a little funny,’ or, ‘You and Daddy argue a lot.’”
Learning this “crushed” Kelley, and ultimately led to his decision to go to rehab.
“It just makes me feel so grateful at how close I came to losing it all,” he said. “And I think the thing that’s hard is to know how much it affected Cassie the most, and my band, and the people around me. And how much it emotionally kinda wrecked them for a while. And that, I can’t really say I’m sorry enough. And it’s just gonna take time to rebuild that.”
Speaking to Men’s Health, the singer shared, “It’s my second half of life. I’ve lived 25 years one way, and it was really freaking fun. It was awesome. Now I’ve got this whole second half. All right, that was fun. I did that. Now I’m ready to do this.”
It’s incredible to see what a difference sobriety can make.
Read Next: Lady A Lead Vocalist Calls Sobriety the ‘Best Decision’
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