Hitting a major milestone.
Ashley McBryde boasts about herself for good reason. She recently celebrated 900 days sober.
Along with a handful of other artists, she has opened up considerably over the past two years about her sobriety journey. And while the “Cool Little Bars” singer might know a thing about a wild night out, she realized that drinking was “really detrimental” when she was no longer able to feel what was really going on in her heart and mind.
In 2023, McBryde sat down with Kelleigh Bannen from Today’s Country Radio and chatted about everything related to her most recent record, The Devil I Know. During the conversation, she opened up about her sobriety journey, and although she was over a year sober at that point, she was just now ready to open up about it.
“Turns out it was just really detrimental.
And then when you’re finding out the reasons that you’re going so overboard all the time was because of your inability to feel something that your brain was like, I can’t do it. I can’t do it.
I’m like, well, that’s weak. I’m not going to accept that. I’d rather just hurt. This morning, I was at the boxing gym working out with my coach. We were doing something that was hard, and he said, ‘Are you okay? Do you need a break?’ And I said, ‘I know how to hurt.’ I do now. I mean, I knew how to hurt before and add extra to it for no reason.”
During the interview, she also told Bannen that she wrote her song “Blackout Betty” hungover and realized she was acting like a “real piece of sh*t” because her drinking habits were spiraling out of control.
“There’s even a line in Blackout Betty that says, ‘Why can’t I have just one glass of wine? Hey, I’m a real piece of shit sometimes.’ And at the time, I was. Pretty often. But you’ll hear it in co, text, and you’ll be like, yeah, it’s kind of sad in a jabbing you in the ribs kind of way…
And I know that my therapist would be like, ‘We’re not going to say that I’m a piece of shit sometimes. We can say I’m messy, we can say I’m complicated.’ But at the time, it was absolute truth. I mean, I wrote the song hungover.”
While McBryde admitted during that interview that there were still times on her sobriety journey when she felt uncomfortable, her sharing her story might not only help other people but also help her outgrow that awkward feeling.
Over the weekend, McBryde took to social media to share how proud she is that she has passed 900 days of sober. A full circle moment sharing a clip of her in her boxing gym is a true full-circle moment of her story. She shared that she is so grateful for the life she currently lives and the choice she made to give up alcohol.
“The gut punch (understatement) when I realized a choice HAD to be made. It was either continue and die or stop and learn to live. The pain I caused and was in myself… it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever chosen to examine and take action on. And the best decision I’ve ever made. 900 days Sober is worth celebrating. And whatever day you may be on is worth celebrating, too!”
Ashley McBryde has always been one of the most badass women in country music, and her vulnerability in sharing this part of her life amplifies that statement. It’s not easy to be honest with yourself or sometimes your fans, but she has taken on both challenges with grace and, in turn, lifted up many others facing similar hardships.
Cheers to 900 days under your belt. We can’t wait to see you cross these milestones, cheering you on every bit of the way.
While you’re here, fire up “Blackout Betty.” The tune might carry a different meaning after you read about how the song came to be.