Ashley McBryde is so glad she is sober. The Grand Ole Opry member, who celebrated her 900th day of sobriety on Thanksgiving Day this year, will likely never go back to her former ways of drinking, now that she has cut it out of her life for so long.
“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 is a country music celebrity in her own right, but she still has plenty of other stars she admires, sometimes to her own chagrin.
“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.
The 41-year-old might be getting used to being around her idols, but there is one memory of meeting one of her biggest musical heroes, namely Reba McEntire, which still makes McBryde chuckle.
“She snuck in when I was doing a radio interview, and she got right next to my face and said into the microphone, ‘Hi, Ashley McBryde, this is Reba McEntire, and I’m your biggest fan,’ ” McBryde remembers. “I just literally honked like a goose at her.”
McBryde shared her milestone sobriety anniversary, in a video she posted on social media.
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“The gut punch (understatement) when I realized a choice HAD to be made,” McBryde captioned the video. “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.”
McBryde has done a lot throughout her career, but calls her decision to quit drinking the most significant one she has ever made, and likely ever will.
“II’s one of the most important changes I’ve ever made … If you had told me even ten years ago, you think you love your voice? You should hear it without drinking, because along with drinking comes smoking for me,’” McBryde reflects.
Not that it’s always easy. With more than two years of sobriety behind her, the Arkansas native acknowledges not drinking isn’t always the easiest choice.
“I’ll still encounter a situation where I’ll be like, ‘Oh, normally I would drink about this,’” McBryde concedes “And I go ahead and sit with that feeling and I’m like, ‘Okay, you had a great show or you had a great interview, or you had a great interaction, or whatever. Why on earth would you punish yourself for that?’”
McBryde will join Cody Johnson on his Leather Deluxe Tour, as well as headline many of her own shows in 2025. “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs,” her new single, is out now.
Find all of McBryde’s music and tour dates at AshleyMcBryde.com.