Justin Moore is opening up about his struggles with alcohol. Days after publicly revealing that he went to rehab, the country singer spoke about what led to his drinking getting “out of control.”
“I was 21 when I first drank and now I’m 42. I never had an issue until COVID,” Moore said during an appearance on 103.7 The Buzz’s Morning Mayhem show. “… It screwed me up, man, the stress, and the pressure, and the anxiety from worrying about paying my crew and band and all that. It’s not an excuse. I’m just telling you what the reasons for me are.”
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Moore noted that, eventually, he “got in a vicious cycle that I could not break out of.” After trying to get better on his own, Moore reached out to his wife, Kate, for help.
“I just came home one night off the road and told Kate, ‘I got to go. I got to do something because this is not who I want to be. It’s not who I am as a person. I’m just not happy with myself,’” he recalled. “Obviously, she was very supportive, as were my mom and dad, everybody was. It’s been overwhelming and humbling how great everybody’s been and how supportive.”
Moore went on to note that he wanted to get better for his family, friends, and fans.
“It’s been a strange, but really, really good last 36 days. This is my 36 days sober. That sounds like nothing in the grand scheme of things, but to me, it’s a heck of a lot,” he said. “I feel like myself for the first time in a long time, in a year or more. I’m actually proud of myself for the first time in a year or two.”
“I feel great. I’m happy and I’m super, super thankful to all my family and friends… but specifically my wife and kids for being so awesome and being there for me instead of shaming me,” Moore added. “I feel ashamed enough of myself.”
Justin Moore Wants to Help People After Rehab Stint
Now that he’s out of rehab, Moore said that he’s “going to try my best to help as many people with this situation from now on as well.”
“I don’t know what that’ll look like, but even the guys and gals I was in there with, they’re like, ‘Man, you have such a platform. You can help so many people,’” he said. “I’m going to do my best to do that… I look forward to that in the future as well.”
Fans first learned that something was amiss with Moore in June, when he announced that he was taking time off of the road to focus on his health. When Moore returned to the stage the following month, he decided to get more specific about the reason for his break.
“I’ve been really honest with my fan base my entire career, which is one of the reasons that I’ve had a career in music and a successful one,” he said. “… Our first show back was Thursday, and I had no idea how I was going to handle it. About two or three minutes before I did what I did, I decided.”
During that show, Moore told the crowd in part, “I let down my band and my crew, most importantly God, my family… I’m going to try and help as many people from this point forward till my last days on Earth, and hopefully set a much better example for my kiddos.”
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