Country music star Ashley McBryde recently opened up about her past struggles with alcohol and admitted she has seen incredible success since becoming sober.
The singer is up for three CMA awards and has collected a Grammy, celebrated two critically acclaimed albums and earned a Grand Ole Opry membership. McBryde said all the accolades are a direct result of her sobriety, but admitted the struggle to get to this point was very real. “It’s sort of like I can hear the universe saying, ‘Kid, you were just in your own way,'” McBryde told People in an interview published Wednesday.
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McBryde decided to get sober in June 2022. She said her choice to quit drinking was a private one, and she didn’t publicly declare her struggles.
“I decided that I wasn’t gonna talk about it at all until at least a year,” she told People.
The famous singer admitted she wanted to take the big step towards sobriety without putting the spotlight on her journey.
“Because what I didn’t need was people on social media being like, ‘Ashley McBryde swears off alcohol!’ All people are gonna do is just wait for you to screw up, and that’s really annoying. I did it for me. I didn’t do it for social media,” she said.
McBryde went on to explain the reason she’s talking about it now is because there are many outward changes about herself that are quite obvious. She said she lost weight, and her face looks younger and more relaxed.
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“It’s the best I’ve felt, the best I’ve looked,” she told the outlet.
The singer-songwriter said her music has also improved.
“And the difference in my voice … If you had told me even 10 years ago, you think you love your voice? You should hear it without drinking, because along with drinking comes smoking for me.”
McBryde said this is the happiest she has ever been. “I’m halfway to 80, and I just met me,” she told People. “I’m a complete person now. And I love that, and I celebrate it.”
As for her love of alcohol, McBryde admitted that will never fully go away, and that there are moments she thinks about having a drink. But when that happens, she reminds herself it’s just not worth it, according to People. (RELATED: ‘I Would’ve Died Already’: Tim McGraw Credits Faith Hill For Saving His Life And Career)
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“[M]aybe part of being the ‘whiskey-drinking badass’ is knowing when to set it down, knowing when it’s costing you too much. This had become too costly, and I’m not willing to trade this — what I do, what I love — for anything,” she said.
McBryde said she doesn’t need credit to recognize what an achievement her sobriety is.
“I don’t need a parade. I just needed to stop killing myself,” she told the outlet.