Country singer-songwriter Margo Price said she’s thriving as a result of giving up alcohol.
The Nashville-based musician, 41, opened up about her current state of wellbeing during an interview with People, published on Sunday, March 23. “I feel like I’m in the best head space of my life. I feel like my creative juices are functioning on all cylinders and I just feel really happy,” she told the outlet of staying away from the hard stuff since 2021.
Price detailed how she’d recently woken up fresh after performing at Willie Nelson’s ranch until 12:30 AM. “I was like, ‘Okay, if I would’ve been boozing, it would’ve been a much rougher morning.’ I got up … two hours sleep and set my alarm at 4:20,” the “Hands of Time” star told the outlet. “Get up, hit the road and I’m here and ready to give people the best show.”
Price lost her twin son, Ezra, just two weeks after his birth in 2018, telling People afterwards that the tragedy led to “a whole ‘nother period of depression.” In 2021, Price penned an essay for GQ magazine that detailed her decision to overhaul her lifestyle.
“During this tumultuous past year, I did the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done in my life: I quit drinking alcohol,” Price wrote in her GQ essay, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic left a significant mark on Price in 2020.
“From the outside, I had it all together: a foot in the door of the elusive music business, a loving partner, a beautiful family. And I do have all of that. But after almost a year in lockdown, I started having heavy dreams,” Price wrote. “One began recurring nightly: a scene where both masked and unmasked faces stood around me in silence as I sank into heavy quicksand.”
The emotional article also detailed why she had so frequently turned to the bottle in the past. “I drank because I was worried about the state of the world, I drank because I was bored, I drank because I missed [my] tour, I drank because I was unemployed, I drank because everyone else drinks,” she wrote. “And I drank even though I didn’t really want to.”
Price added that she didn’t attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, revealing that she figured out a version of sobriety that worked for her. “As women, we are always saying we are sorry. The only one I feel the need to beg forgiveness from is myself … I don’t identify as an alcoholic, and I have no regrets for the decisions I’ve made in my life,” Price wrote. “I believe everything happens for a reason. But I also believe that quitting drinking has made parenting and work easier.”
In her new interview with People, Price, who is married to the guitarist in her band, Jeremy Ivey, and shares her son’s twin brother as well as a third child, a girl born in 2019, with him, said she’s in a more positive place than ever. “I feel like I’m aging backwards,” Price detailed, adding that she especially loves “being in nature,” hiking, canoeing and fishing these days.
If you or anyone you know is facing substance abuse issues, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information 24/7.
