Justin Moore is giving new insight into his decision to get sober. Moore recently returned to touring after taking 30 days off. At the time, Moore said he was focusing on his health. But after returning to performing, Moore revealed he spent 30 days in rehab.

“I know some of you have probably seen — I know there’s a sign over here that says ‘Welcome back’ — that we’ve been off a while, and there was a lot of speculation, but my drinking got out of control,” he announced (via People). “I let down my band and my crew and most importantly God, my family.”

“I just became a complete dumba–,” he continued. “I just got out of rehab for 30 days. This is my 31st day sober. And I’m gonna try to help as many people from this point forward until my last days on earth, and hopefully set a much better example for my kiddos.”

Now, Moore is shedding new light into what compelled him to go to rehab.

“Man, COVID — as it did a lot of folks, I’ve learned over the past month — it screwed me up, man,” Moore admits on 103.7 The Buzz’s Morning Mayhem show (via Taste of Country). “The stress and the pressure and the anxiety from worrying about paying my crew and band and all that. It’s not an excuse, I’m just telling you what the reasons for me are.”

What Justin Moore Says About Getting Sober

Moore was aware for a while that his drinking was getting out of control.

“I’d go a couple months and fall off the wagon or whatever,” Moore recalls. Finally, the 42-year-old knew he needed professional help.

“I just came home one night from off the road and told [my wife] Kate, ‘I gotta do something. ‘Cause this is not who I wanna be. It’s not who I am as a person, and I’m just not happy with myself.”

Moore now joins the ranks of artists like Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, and more, who have given up drinking. He is willing to speak out about his decision to quit drinking, in hopes that it will help others.

“I thank God that He put that on my heart,” Moore says. “It’s like when I got saved 30 years ago. It’s such a weight lifted off your shoulders when you go, ‘You know what, I’m an alcoholic. I got problems. And that’s okay.'”

“It’s okay not to be okay,” he continues. “I’ve learned that over the past five weeks.”

Moore spent years drinking, an easy thing to do when so much time is spent on the road. But now that he is sober, the Arkansas native says he feels better than ever.

“I feel like myself for the first time in a long time, in a year or more, and I’m actually proud of myself for the first time in a year or two,” Moore says.

Moore is headlining several of his own shows, along with serving as the opening act on Riley Green‘s Cowboy As It Gets Tour.