Ashley McBryde Breaks Down Talking About Rehab: ‘I Was Gonna Die’

Ashley McBryde says the intervention that led her to rehab saved her life. It came after a wild night out with another artist. She woke up to find water and found her team waiting for her instead.

The “Light On In the Kitchen” singer went to rehab to treat an addiction to alcohol in 2022. A year later she started to share her story with fans.

• Ashley McBryde was a recent guest on the Bobbycast, Bobby Bones’ Netflix podcast.
• This year, she’s released two new songs from an upcoming album: “What If We Don’t” and “Arkansas Mud.”
• A conversation about the filming of the video for “Arkansas Mud” led to an emotional 20-minute-long conversation about life before and after rehab.

Related: 13 Country Stars Who Are Better After Getting Sober

“I woke up at another artist’s house, another female artist. And if I told you who, you would not be shocked,” McBryde says. “And I woke up in a bed that’s not mine, in pajamas that aren’t mine, and was like, oh my god, that must have been a doozy.”

Ashley McBryde: An Intervention Led Her To Rehab

Feeling thirsty, she went to get a glass of water but as she entered the living room she found that artist, her manager, her best friend and more from her professional team.

“And they said, ‘We need you to stop.’ And I said, ‘I need me to stop, too,'” McBryde recalls.

A clip of the interview was shared on social media but the full interview goes much deeper, into why she quickly agreed to rehab and if she ever wanted to leave. Spoiler alert: she did.

Asked why she didn’t walk out, an emotional McBryde admits it was because, “I was gonna die.”

“And if this goes any farther, this is really, really ugly. This is — like they’ll have to make a movie about it bad,” she adds.

Ashley McBryde’s Non-Alcoholic Bar

The conversation is inspiring if you or a loved one is in a similar position. She’s now three-plus years sober and confident in her ability to write and create music without help of drugs or alcohol.

Read More: 21 Saddest Country Songs By Women, Ranked

Part of that journey has been creating safe spaces for others who want to enjoy live music free of alcohol. Last summer, she announced the non-alcoholic Redemption bar at Eric Church‘s Chiefs on Broadway.

The full 1-hour-20-minute-long conversation is also available wherever audio podcasts are found. McBryde’s next studio album is expected this year. This spring she’s on tour with Church.