Charles Kelley Calls Getting Sober the ‘Best Decision’ He’s Ever Made

Lady A singer Charles Kelley is looking back on the moment he decided to give up drinking in Hulu’s new docuseries It’s All Country.

“Success is a double-edged sword, for sure. You know, once you know what it feels like, and once you’ve been out there, it’s a drug in itself,” Kelley, 43, said in the second episode, which started streaming on Friday, November 15. “There is a lot of doubt that can come in and there’s just a lot of, I think, keeping your ego in check. I had to come back from treatment.”

He added, “I went to this place in Utah for a month, and we were kind of talking to our team about, you know, ‘What do we say? Why are we canceling the tour?’”

The band, also featuring Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, postponed their concerts in August 2022 after Kelley finished his inpatient treatment. Speaking in It’s All Country, Kelley noted it was important to be “more honest” and transparent with the group’s fans about his struggles.

Related: Lady A‘s Charles Kelly and Wife Cassie McConnell‘s Relationship Timeline

Together through it all. Lady A musician Charles Kelley and his wife, Cassie McConnell, have weathered some tough times during their relationship. During an emotional appearance on CBS Mornings in May 2023, the duo — who tied the knot in 2009 — opened up about how Kelley’s struggles with alcohol addiction had affected their marriage. […]

“Dave and Hillary were such good friends throughout this whole journey,” he said. “And thank God, I felt like I was given this second lease on my career and my marriage.”

Kelley has been married to Cassie McConnell since 2009. During a 2023 appearance on CBS Mornings, McConnell, 41, revealed that she had plans to “meet with a divorce attorney” before Kelley went to rehab. Since Kelley got clean, his wife has been “really proud” of his commitment. (The couple share son Ward, who was born in 2016.)

“When he was in rehab and I went out there for family week, one of the first messages you receive is, ‘You’re gonna have to do just as much work here.’ And I remember being so mad,” McConnell said at the time. “Like, you did this. And now I have to do all of this work too? But … it affects every person in that family system. So, I could’ve chosen not to do the work, but then I have to live with the way that I’ve been affected and unhealed. So, whether Charles and I were in a marriage or not, whether I saw him again for the rest of my life, I still had to deal with what I had gone through.”

Kelley further revealed in It’s All Country that getting sober is the “best decision [he’s] ever made in [his] life.”

Related: Stars Who‘ve Gotten Sober

Several of Hollywood’s biggest stars have been candid about their sobriety journeys over the years. Kelly Osbourne, who previously talked about being sober for six years, revealed in April 2021 that she had suffered a relapse and was working on next steps. “Not proud of it. But I am back on track,” she wrote via […]

“It wasn’t my intention to really share my story so much. It kind of took on this thing where I felt like I wanted to be honest with the fans and the people about what I was going through,” Kelley said. “And it just kind of snowballed to where you start seeing that people are actually connecting to the story and it could help them in some way.”

The musician added, “I just think it’s such a common occurrence and we all struggle with it. The stage of career I’m at and the stage of life I’m in, I wanna be able to give something back, too, in a positive way — even if it’s just a little bit of encouragement.”

It’s All Country is streaming on Hulu.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.