Walker Hayes Got Sober When He Realized 'If I Do It One More Day I Might Die'

Country star Walker Hayes continues to share his sobriety journey — revealing the exact moment when he realized he needed to stop drinking. 

“I was working a night job at Costco stocking produce and playing shows at night,” Hayes, 44, told TODAY hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, adding that his wife Laney had just welcomed their sixth child, daughter Everly. 

“Life was just wild, it was a lot on my body and I just woke up on a Saturday and I just knew if I did this one more day my body would be affected,” the "Fancy Like" singer said. “Some organ — you know, look, I'm not a scientist. I'm not a doctor. I just woke up and it felt like if I do it one more day I might die.”

Hayes, who shared that he started drinking at age 13, said that he had this epiphany at age 36 — and started his sobriety journey in small stages. 

“I went one day to two, two days turned into a week,” Hayes — who chronicles relationship with alcohol in his new album, Sober Thoughts — said. 

“Sobriety — [when] you've been drunk that long ... you get addicted to ... the clarity, the pep in your step. You go to the gym and you're like, ‘I feel like I'm 17.’” 

“A month turned into a year and then I just didn't want to go backwards,” Hayes said.

Hayes said he’s not shy to talk about being eight years sober, saying, “I want to share that as much as I can.”

“I think most recovering alcoholics feel the same way, you know. Sobriety is so amazing that you'd love to pass it along. It's a great option that we have in life and there is freedom from addiction,” Hayes said.

“So, I'm always thinking about it. I like to make the world, my audience, my accountability partner — that's how I go about it. I'm not very anonymous, I love to just share, ‘Hey, it's a struggle. I'm weak in that area. Help! You know, we can help each other.’”

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“I swear, if you ask my publishing company, I probably write a song a week about recovery, and so, I'm so grateful,” he said, explaining that one song, “Same Drunk,” is about coping mechanisms.

“A lot of our life, we just balance from coping mechanism to coping mechanism. Like coffee, for instance. I’m so addicted to coffee,” he said, adding, “But you know, it doesn’t destroy my life.”  

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.