Many country music stars have endured substance abuse or alcoholism issues. By and large, they battled through them to successfully reclaim their lives. Quite often, they have bravely shared their stories of perseverance and courage to inspire others to do likewise. That is the case with Ashley McBryde. On a recent episode of Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast, she acknowledged that for a long, tortured time, she concealed the extent and severity of her addiction. Today, McBryde bluntly concedes, "I was going to die."
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McBryde Said Her Alcoholism "Went off the Rails"
The singer says now that she was putting her well-being at serious risk by routinely drinking so heavily. While she was in the midst of her alcoholism, that painful fact went by the boards until those close to her spoke up in unison.
Ashley McBryde told Bobby Bones, "When it went off the rails, it went off the rails in a big way. And as I've had to say over the last three years, I'm a drunk. And if you find yourself wanting to be like, 'No, you're not.' That's how good I am at it. I've had people say, 'I never really saw you as much of a drinker.' And so now I can say, 'if you were around me prior to three years, nine months, six weeks, and however many days ago, I was drunk. Sorry. I am sorry."
She Hid Her Condition
She refrained from resorting to drinking prior to her concerts. But afterwards, McBryde said she made up for it in a big way. "For some reason, my brain was like, 'You didn't drink till after a show and now you have to drink as much as humanly possible.' And so everybody that I work with, everybody I was close with, not even my parents knew the extent of it."
The Singer Was Initially Ambivalent About Rehab
Going into rehab for help was not appealing to McBryde at first. She was very torn about what her next steps would be. To Bobby Bones, she admitted, "I kept being like, "I can't do this. I don't know where I am. I can't ... Oh my God, I have to do this. I mean, I'm going to do it. They got me here. I'm going to do it. " But I just kept being like, "There's no way I'm doing this for 30 days. That's insane. I don't live under a bridge. I didn't hurt anybody." And now I can hear my other self going, "Oh kid, sit down and shut up and put your seatbelt on."
There Was a Decisive Last Straw
McBryde says she woke up in the home of a fellow singer after a bout of excessive drinking. That was when people close to her stepped in to convince her she needed help. It was a major turning point for McBryde.
She recalled, "I woke up in a bed that's not mine, in pajamas that aren't mine, and I was like, 'Oh my God, that must have been a doozy. I'm thirsty. I don't know where I am, and I don't know where water is, so I'll just go find water.' And when I went to find water, I found a living room, and in that living room was my team, Dana and John Peets and my day to day."
She added, "I looked at them and that artist was also on the couch. And I said, 'Okay, I don't know where my boots are, but I need my boots,' she recalled with tears in her eyes. And they said, 'We need you to stop.' And I said, 'I need me to stop too.' And that was when I found out that she took me to her house that night after we'd been out to make sure I didn't die, but I didn't."
It's been nearly four years since Ashley McBryde has maintained her sobriety, per Country Now. Her strength and resolve are an inspiration to many.
