Ashley McBryde has been sober for 1000 days. The Arkansas native celebrated the milestone on social media, revealing how grateful she is to no longer be drinking.
“1,000 days, 1,000 moons,” McBryde writes. “1,000 hangovers skipped. 1,000 drunk ‘I’m sorrys’ I didn’t have to say. 1,000 times in a row I made the choice to not pick it up or not miss it when the smell crossed my nose. 1,000 times I have shown that the power of the love of a song and the love of the road are stronger than the pull to ever go back to who I was. 1,000 ‘I love you’s’ I say to my reflection. I see the woman I am now and the woman I am on my way to being and I have love and compassion for the woman I was and I care for her daily.
“Wherever you are in your journey, day 1, day 0…. Day 400 or day zero again for the 10th time,” she adds. “It is worth it. Every day is a milestone. Every version of you was necessary to be who you are now. So love them.”
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Lady A’s Charles Kelley, who became sober in 2022, commented on McBryde’s post, saying, “Boom. Huge milestone. I’ll see u there at some point.”
In 2022, McBryde revealed that she had quietly stopped drinking more than a year ago. It was a decision she at first kept to herself, until the time felt right to share it with the world.
“I didn’t really want to talk to anybody about it even lightly until a year had passed because I was like, ‘What if I screw it up?’” McBryde sys on Apple Music Country’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen.
But now, the Grand Ole Opry member is so grateful for her sobriety, and the person she is without alcohol in her life.
“I’d lost so much self-trust without even realizing that it had completely gone extinct,” McBryde tells People. “My favorite thing the last 915 days is that when I say something to you, you can trust it because I can trust it. I had no idea, which is one of the most cowboy lessons I’ve ever learned, that the reason you can trust that guy or that girl is because they trust themselves.”
McBryde has learned to embrace all of her feelings, including the uncomfortable ones, now that she is no longer relying on alcohol.
“I’ve said stupid things to Patty Loveless. I’ve said stupid things to Morgane Stapleton. I almost said stupid things to [World Champion roper] Jackie Crawford,” McBryde admits. “When I look at her, I’m looking at the best on the planet, and no matter what line of work you’re looking at or what event or what sport, it makes you feel so tiny and so seen at the same time. I am looking to and speaking to the best on the planet at what she does and what they do.
“Now that I’m sober, I know that it’s okay to feel awkward about that in real time,” she adds.
Find all of McBryde’s music and upcoming shows at AshleyMcBryde.com.
Photo Credit: Katie Kauss