Lady A's Charles Kelley Celebrates 6 Months of Sobriety: 'Woo Hoo!'
Lady A's Charles Kelley is celebrating six months of sobriety as he heads into the new year.
The country star, 41, shared an update with fans on social media as he marked the start of 2023, and made note of his latest milestone as he vacationed with family on Harbour Island in the Bahamas.
"Just wanted to wish you all a happy 2023. May this be the best year yet," he said in a video on his Instagram Story Monday. "My wife reminded me actually a couple days ago that I'd hit my six-month sobriety mark and woo hoo! Couldn't have done it without her, above all, [and] my bandmates. So much support."
Lady A announced in August that they would be postponing tour dates, as Kelley had "embarked on a journey to sobriety," and in November, he chronicled the highs and lows of that journey in the lyrics of his new song "As Far as You Could."
In his video, Kelley addressed the "amazing" response the song has received, and also expressed his excitement for the year ahead.
Charles Kelley Instagram Charles Kelley
"I just wanted to say, you know, just the comments and the shares from my song 'As Far as You Could' have been just so amazing. I've been praying for all of y'all as well. I know a lot of people are going through this journey or have someone that they love going through this journey and it means the world," he said. "[I'm] just feeling super blessed and just gonna try to keep doing the next right thing, is what I keep telling myself, and just really enjoying this journey and cannot wait to get back out on the road with my bandmates and make some music. Love you guys."
Since announcing his sobriety, Kelley has received an outpouring of support from both his fans and his family, including wife Cassie. Cassie — with whom he shares 6-year-old son Ward — celebrated her family's wins in an Instagram Video of her own on Tuesday.
"Harbour Island is really, really special and we've had such a good trip. It's just been so calm and fun and just special," she said on her Story. " And I think that that's a big hurdle in recovery, is being able to go back on vacation, where maybe there was a lot of drinking before, and still enjoying it. So mission accomplished. We had such a great time."
RELATED: Charles Kelley Says 'I Finally See the 'Light' as He Releases New Version of Emotional Ballad
After Kelley shared a studio version of "As Far as You Could" in late December, Cassie took to Instagram to explain the ways in which her husband has grown over the last year.
"This time last year I was waiting up for my husband who was deep in the grips of alcoholism, to come home from a night out," she wrote, in part. " As I watched the minutes tick away in the early morning hours I just prayed that he would get in before our son woke up. Now, a year later, he is clear-eyed as he tucks him in bed at night."
Kelley has called the song his "goodbye letter to alcohol," and in announcing the studio version, said he'd been focusing on "gratitude, not pride" amid his recovery journey.
"I'm grateful," he wrote on Instagram. "I finally see the light and am connecting with what life is all about. Some days are hard, but the good outweighs those bad moments. There's some beauty in all this and I've had time to reflect, time to get healthy, time to write. I've probably written 50 songs this fall, and I feel like all of it was leading to this one song."
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
