Ashley McBryde Reveals That She’s Been Sober “450-Something Days”

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Ashley McBryde has been sober for more than a year and recently opened up about it for the first time.

During an interview with Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen, Ashley McBryde opened up about her sobriety, saying, “I didn’t check the counter, and I haven’t. But, it’s 450-something days.”

She added that she kept her decision to stop drinking to herself, not wanting to talk to anyone about it until she had been sober for a year. “I was like, what if I screw it up? But, it’s so wonderful,” Ashley said.

She added that she realized that she had been going overboard with drinking to numb pain she was feeling. “I’m like, that’s weak. I’m not going to accept that. I’d rather just hurt.”

 

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In an industry where drinking is a part of the culture, not just something songs are written about, alcoholism can be a real struggle for artists.

Other artists have shared public struggles, including Lady A’s Charles Kelley also recently celebrated one year of being sober. In an interview with The Tennessean, Kelley revealed the moment that he knew he had a drinking problem.

“When I knew I had a problem is when I started hiding it from my wife or from the band,” the Lady A frontman said. The attempt to hide his drinking came after Kelley was confronted by bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood who addressed his behavior on stage and how he was treating the band.

RELATED: CHARLES KELLEY BREAKS SILENCE AFTER LADY A POSTPONES TOUR 

Kelley admitted that the confrontation offended him, but instead of stopping, he started trying to hid his drinking. After a frightening episode in Greece, Charles Kelley flew to a treatment center where he started his sobriety journey.

Ashley McBryde is currently promoting her latest album, The Devil I Know.

The 40-year-old told KIKV Radio that the love she’s received since the release of her new album has been overwhelming and tough to process.

“It’s hard to process that much love coming at you at one time, especially when you’re in an industry that requires a lot of competitiveness and a lot of comparison and things like that where you have to prove yourself all the time and earn your spot all the time,” Ashley said before adding, “And then with something like this, you release a record, everybody’s been dying for it and they go, ‘We love it.’ You kind of go, ‘Oh, I’m unsure how to feel in this moment.'”

The “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” singer has learned to give herself grace to process the positivity and enjoy it.

“You just give yourself a little bit of time to decompress and feel [and] absorb that much love. It takes a minute,” says Ashley.

Hear Ashley’s interview with Kelleigh Bannen in the video below.