Stars who’ve opened up about sobriety
Celebrities are pulling back the curtain on their addiction struggles and showing what recovery really looks like.
unbranded – Entertainment Vertical
Charles Kelley is revealing the stunning difference in his appearance after going sober.
The Lady A singer took to Instagram on Monday, Aug. 31, to share before-and-after images since starting his sobriety journey in 2022.
“My best filter is just…not drinking. Swipe to see my before,” the singer captioned a photo with his wife, Cassie, smiling together while on the water, paired with a throwback selfie looking more disheveled. “My wife asked me if I ever look at a photo of myself before I was sober and think ‘who is that guy?'”
The country musician, 44, added that he could elaborate on the “many blessings” from quitting alcohol, which are far more than just looking healthier, “but it’s a nice reminder of a place I don’t wanna go back to.”
Kelley opened up to The Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, about what led to his decision to quit drinking. The “Need You Now” singer said he slowed down his drinking after his band expressed concerned, but that lasted only a few months. Then he started “sneaking” alcohol, behind the band and crew and his wife’s back.
“I was drinking a lot myself before the show,” he said in a 2023 interview. “Then I saw [Lady A’s Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott] and said, ‘Hey, let’s have some.’ And I’d drink some more.”
He said an incident during a family vacation in Greece the year prior, in which he turned off his phone and stayed out all night drinking, was the breaking point. He flew to rehab in Utah, and after going through 12-step recovery meetings and therapy, he determined the causes of his excessive drinking and found hope.
“This is where you get jolts of nuggets of hope and spirituality,” he said. “On my own, I can get distracted, but when I go to those meetings, we have these moments where that’s all I’m focused on, my higher power coming in.”
He added, “I feel like I have a responsibility to share with my peers or with anyone that there is hope. You can literally change the trajectory of your life by doing this [recovery work].”