Morgan Wallen 'Struggling to Stay Sober' After CMA Win (EXCLUSIVE)
Morgan Wallen may be looking at a bright future as he moves past his previous substance abuse issues and arrests, but it’s a tough road ahead and he’s mapping out strict rules and restrictions with a goal towards recovery moving into the new year, a source exclusively tells Life & Style.
While the “Wasted on You” singer, 31, has previously made statements about trying to look at his touring schedule “like an athlete would a season,” and keeping squeaky clean while out on the road, the source says that behind the scenes, “He’s struggling to stay sober and keep himself away from temptation, away from the wrong people.”
The Tennessee native ran into some problems with back in April, when he was picked up by police for allegedly throwing a deck chair off a balcony. His attorney’s are working the problem at the moment, at least succeeding in moving his August 15 court appearance to December to fit his touring schedule, but a second source previously told Life & Style their efforts are “looking bleak at this point.” With Morgan facing six years in prison, “He’s likely to spend time behind bars.”
Others have taken note of the country singer’s drinking, with a different source telling People, “Morgan is generally a nice, fun person to hang out with, but when he gets going he doesn’t know when to stop,” adding, “Morgan and alcohol is a problem and it’s been a problem that keeps coming back around.”
Though, the arrest seemed to snap the singer straight, with the first source noting that the country star has genuinely tried to right his wrongs and drive forward with more attentive care, considering the stunning career success he’s seen recently.
“He’s got to watch it and not mess up,” the insider says. “He’s not resting on his laurels, but staying busy because he’s well aware he’s his own worst enemy. He’s not trying to blame anybody and has a good team around that’s helping him.”
The “Whiskey Glasses” singer told Billboard he previously did a 30-day stint in rehab, which helped him kick the habit of drinking before his shows. “That used to be my warm-up — to get half-lit: ‘I’m going out there, and we’re going to go have fun.’ Now, that is not the way I approach it,” Morgan explained, “I used to be scared to even think about what it would be like to play a show without drinking: ‘That sounds terrible. Why would I ever do that?’ And now I’m almost scared to wonder what it’d be like if I was drunk.”
As Morgan just won Entertainer of the Year at this year’s Country Music Association Awards, the insider says he has a lot of people in the industry behind him. The source says that now, he just needs to pick the right people to associate with and keep himself on the straight and narrow.
“He’s got friends rooting for him, like Blake Shelton. Morgan’s previous stint in rehab taught him to follow certain steps and guidelines and he’s sticking to those and leaning on friends to stay on track.”
“He’s focused on going into 2025 with a lot of optimism but knows he could slip up anytime if he doesn’t stick with the principles he’s laid out and if he doesn’t listen to Blake and others who’ve stuck by him.”