Ashley McBryde Will Celebrate 900th Day of Sobriety on Thanksgiving: 'It's Got a Holiday Built in' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ashley McBrydeis feeling proud — for good reason.The 41-year-old country star attended and performed at the2024 CMA Awardsat Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 19, just over a week out from marking an achievement in her sobriety journey.“It’s awesome,” McBryde tells PEOPLE of her progress on the red carpet ahead of the awards show. “I was adding up — I want to celebrate on the 900th day of being sober, and I was like, ‘That’s a milestone! You should celebrate that.’ I looked, and it’s Thanksgiving Day, so it’s got a holiday built in this time.“Ashley McBryde in November 2024.Taylor Hill/WireImageThe Grammy winner added, “That is quite a milestone, and it’s one of the most important changes I’ve ever made.“At the 2024 CMA Awards, McBryde sang “Help Me Make It Through the Night” in tribute to the lateKris Kristofferson, who died in September at age 88. She was also nominated for female vocalist of the year.McBryde quit drinking alcohol in June 2022, but she chose to keep her sobriety private for some time before sharing the process with the public.Ashley McBryde in November 2024.Theo Wargo/Getty"I decided that I wasn’t gonna talk about it at all until at least a year,” she toldPEOPLEin November 2023, “because what I didn’t need was people on social media being like, ‘Ashley McBryde swears off alcohol!’ All people are gonna do is just wait for you to screw up, and that’s really annoying. I did it forme. I didn’t do it for social media.“The shift to sobriety led McBryde to “the best I’ve felt, the best I’ve looked,” she said at the time, adding that her “voice” also changed as a result.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Ashley McBryde in November 2024.John Angelillo/Shutterstock"If you had told me even 10 years ago, you think you love your voice? You should hear it without drinking, because along with drinking comes smoking for me,” she continued.The Grand Ole Opry singer also opened up about re-educating herself after she quit drinking alcohol. “I’ll still encounter a situation where I’ll be like, oh, normally I would drink about this. And I go ahead and sit with that feeling and I’m like, OK, you had a great show or you had a great interview, or you had a great interaction, or whatever,” she said. “Why on earth would you punish yourself for that?““It takes a while to understand that’s what’s going on,” added McBryde. “Literally, it was punishing myself for doing good things. And when I stopped doing that, the good things got better.”

Ashley McBrydeis feeling proud — for good reason.

The 41-year-old country star attended and performed at the2024 CMA Awardsat Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 19, just over a week out from marking an achievement in her sobriety journey.

“It’s awesome,” McBryde tells PEOPLE of her progress on the red carpet ahead of the awards show. “I was adding up — I want to celebrate on the 900th day of being sober, and I was like, ‘That’s a milestone! You should celebrate that.’ I looked, and it’s Thanksgiving Day, so it’s got a holiday built in this time.”

Ashley McBryde in November 2024.Taylor Hill/WireImage

Taylor Hill/WireImage

The Grammy winner added, “That is quite a milestone, and it’s one of the most important changes I’ve ever made.”

At the 2024 CMA Awards, McBryde sang “Help Me Make It Through the Night” in tribute to the lateKris Kristofferson, who died in September at age 88. She was also nominated for female vocalist of the year.

McBryde quit drinking alcohol in June 2022, but she chose to keep her sobriety private for some time before sharing the process with the public.

Ashley McBryde in November 2024.Theo Wargo/Getty

Theo Wargo/Getty

“I decided that I wasn’t gonna talk about it at all until at least a year,” she toldPEOPLEin November 2023, “because what I didn’t need was people on social media being like, ‘Ashley McBryde swears off alcohol!’ All people are gonna do is just wait for you to screw up, and that’s really annoying. I did it forme. I didn’t do it for social media.”

The shift to sobriety led McBryde to “the best I’ve felt, the best I’ve looked,” she said at the time, adding that her “voice” also changed as a result.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ashley McBryde in November 2024.John Angelillo/Shutterstock

John Angelillo/Shutterstock

“If you had told me even 10 years ago, you think you love your voice? You should hear it without drinking, because along with drinking comes smoking for me,” she continued.

The Grand Ole Opry singer also opened up about re-educating herself after she quit drinking alcohol. “I’ll still encounter a situation where I’ll be like, oh, normally I would drink about this. And I go ahead and sit with that feeling and I’m like, OK, you had a great show or you had a great interview, or you had a great interaction, or whatever,” she said. “Why on earth would you punish yourself for that?”

“It takes a while to understand that’s what’s going on,” added McBryde. “Literally, it was punishing myself for doing good things. And when I stopped doing that, the good things got better.”

source: people.com