Rascal Flatts are back, and better than ever, thanks in large part to Joe Don Rooney. Ahead of their recent show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, as part of their Life Is A Highway Tour, Rooney opened up about his journey, after getting sober in 2021. Rascal Flatts were also celebrating 25 years as a trio.

“We’ve all been through a lot,” Rooney says. “That time off served myself very well, and I’m grateful for the help I have, and all the love from family and friends to be back upright. I thank the Lord. I appreciate so many people. And what I also wanted to say is, this night is just beyond special.”

In 2020, the trio, which also includes Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, were supposed to go on their farewell tour, which didn’t happen because of the pandemic. In 2021, Rooney was in a serious car accident, caused by driving while intoxicated. He later went to rehab, and emerged an entirely different person, one that wasn’t ready to stop making music with LeVox and DeMarcus.

“These last two years have been, I think, the most special of all the years we’ve been doing this,” rooney says.” It’s like Flatts 2.0, and I’m just grateful to be with these two cousins, Jay and Gary.”

@everythingnash @Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney feels overwhelmingly grateful to be back making music again. #countrymusic #rascalflatts #sober #lifeisahighway ♬ original sound EverythingNash

What Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney Says About Sobriety

Rooney waited a few years after his accident to share that he had quietly quit drinking.

“My life and career took a major detour at 4:00 AM in the early morning hours of Sept. 9, 2021 when I ran square into a tree and about killed myself,” Rooney shared on social media. “I was drunk and I was so far gone with my life – I was completely out of control and finished with trying to fight the fears, depression and anxieties that had spun me out in a way I’ve never experienced before.

“My drinking had been an issue for many years – and as they say in AA and treatment, it’s a progressive disease,” he continued. “I am living proof that the progressive nature of drinking can really ratchet up and as I grew older as an adult my drinking grew worse.”

Rooney went to rehab for several months. Since then, he has a new lease on life, and is profoundly grateful for being given another chance.

“Well, I think it just enhances it,” Rooney says of sobriety. “It’s incredible. For me personally, just my connection to God and my higher power, it’s unclouded now, and I’m so grateful for it. And my connection with my kids, that’s the most important thing. It’s amazing what God can do. If you just trust it and move forward with it, it’s incredible.”

Rascal Flatts will wrap up their Life Is A Highway Tour on February 28.