Charles Kelley chronicles his journey to sobriety in his solo single, “As Far As You Could,” out now. The Lady A band member is bravely continuing to open up about his alcoholism, and why he knew he needed to stop drinking, this time for good.

“It’s a journey … I think it was obvious to a lot of people, it was time,” Kelley admits on The Bobby Bones Show. “It wasn’t fun anymore for me. The last three years just had gotten to this point where it escalated. It was, I had to do it. It wasn’t even like I was getting any joy out of it. It just became a crutch.”

Now that Kelley is more than six months sober, the singer-songwriter is enjoying life much more without drinking. Still, Kelley admits that not drinking after 25 years is not easy, and will always be a work in progress.

“Everything has gotten infinitely better,” Kelley reflects. “Do I not like to go to a cocktail party? That’s really awkward for me. If I’m going to be around drinking, I need to have something I’m doing, whether it’s dinner or golf … But at least for now, I’m six months in. I wake up, enjoy the mornings. I feel like I can say I’m a sober dad now. I’m way more present.”

Kelley, who lost 15 pounds and now works out every day, had an impending feeling that he needed to quit drinking, before something damaging — and irreparable — happened to him and those closest to him.

“I knew it. I knew something was going to have to happen,” Kelley admits. “I was just waiting. And luckily, I didn’t lose it all, but I almost did. My marriage was kind of really, really shaky. The band definitely was concerned. It was like, ‘Something’s going to happen. What is going to happen? Am I going to get pulled over? Am I going to do something awful?’ And it just eventually was like, ‘Why am I waiting for some giant disaster?’ But it’s been unbelievable.”

Fortunately, Kelley’s marriage to his wife, Cassie, is now stronger than ever, thanks to his sobriety, and her support while he embarks on this lifelong journey.

“My wife and I, our relationship has turned around 180,” Kelley reveals. “She was always concerned for me … That was my first goal in doing this. I was like, ‘I need to save my marriage. I need to be there for my wife.'”

Not only has Kelley’s wife noticed the positive changes in him after he quit drinking, but so have his bandmates, including Dave Haywood, who wrote “As Far As You Could” alongside Kelley and Jimmy Robbins.

“He’ll always be Charles, but he’s just changed his demeanor and energy in such a positive, healthy way,” Haywood reveals. “He’s taken all of that energy that he has, which is awesome, and put it in so much good. I’m just proud of him. To be honest, this is bigger than a song for me. I’ve been friends with him since we were ten, 11, 12. Writing that day, we were all crying. I’m just proud of [him]. This is more than just a song out there. This is him making life changes that I’m so proud to stand by him in, and proud to just stand alongside.”

Lady A postponed their  Request Line Tour until 2023, so Kelley could work on his sobriety. With the trio, which also includes Hillary Scott, ready to begin the tour in April, Haywood says it’s likely fans will hear Kelley perform “As Far As You Could” during their concerts this year.

“I told him, ‘I’ll play this as much as you want. It’s your story and it’s vulnerable,'” Haywood shares. “And I haven’t found a circle of people that haven’t been impacted in some way by this song. The stories that I’ve heard personally; I know that there’s a great mission with this song, wherever it lands. I’m just super proud of him.”

Lady A’s Request Line Tour begins with two back-to-back shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on April 14 and 15. Download or stream “As Far As You Could” here.

Read ’12 Country Music Singers Who Are Sober’ here.