Chris Stapleton chose to get sober without rehab: 'I got into a drinking contest with myself ... and I lost'

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An inside look at Chris Stapleton's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit: 'America to its core'

The Chris Stapleton exhibit showcases the singer's rise to fame, having started out his career as a songwriter and background singer and achieving success where he is now.

Country star Chris Stapleton is talking about his decision to get sober — and how he did it without rehab.

A musician whose pre-show ritual once included a shot of tequila, Stapleton knew he had a problem. "I didn’t have to go to rehab, but from a 45-year-old-man health perspective, a doctor’s gonna look at me and go, ‘Hey, man, probably cut out the drinking,’ and I’d be like, ‘Okay, cool,'" he said.

The singer-songwriter has been sober for several years. His pre-show preparation now consists of vocal exercises. Stapleton writes about his former routine on his upcoming album "Higher," specifically on a track titled "The Bottom."

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Chris Stapleton says he recognized that his drinking was a problem and chose to get sober on his own. (Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

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"I like to tell people that I got into a drinking contest with myself in my 20s, and I lost," he revealed in an interview with GQ. "When you’re younger, you feel like you have to do certain things in order to occupy some of these spaces, to make yourself feel like you’re legit. You want to feel things. You want to be able to write about things authentically," he explained. 

Chris Stapleton implies he drank to "feel things" as a young musician. (Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

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"If somebody working a different kind of job drank themselves to death in the name of being better at that job, it wouldn’t make sense to anybody. We wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, he must have been the greatest electrician who ever lived.’"

Having achieved his big break in the country scene eight years ago with his album "Traveller," Stapleton is not reluctant to address other challenges he has faced. He and his wife Morgane, with whom he shares five children, started going to therapy together.

Chris Stapleton says he and his wife, Morgane, entered therapy together during the pandemic. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

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"It was a way to kind of help us navigate what the world was, what that meant to our family, to our business," he shared of their decision to go. He speaks highly of his wife, describing her as his "barometer on songs." 

"Even if your wife wasn’t heavily involved in your career, if you’re happily married and you want to stay that way, you don’t want to sing things that your wife hates," he said.

Stapleton is currently on tour. His new album is set to bow Nov. 10. Last month, he canceled several shows after he contracted bronchitis and laryngitis.