Tim McGraw on Sobriety: Faith Hill Gave Me A 'Wake Up Call'
Tim McGraw recently opened up on his past struggles with alcohol, including his wife, Faith Hill's pivotal intervention.
The 47-year-old country music star has earned dozens of awards including Grammys for hit songs that include "Live Like You Were Dying" and "Just To See You Smile," among many others. However, McGraw admitted that he drank and partied so much that it was affecting what is now his almost 20-year marriage to Hill.
"When your wife tells you it's gone too far, that's a big wake-up call," McGraw admitted in the new issue of Men's Health magazine. "That, and realizing you're gonna lose everything you have. Not monetarily, not career-wise, but family-wise."
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McGraw and Hill, who have remained together after years of relentless rumors suggesting cheating and divorce, share three daughters together; Gracie, 17; Maggie; 15, and Audrey; 12. When McGraw's drinking also started to affect the children, he decided to "straighten out."
"It got to the point where my kids were getting older, and it was way past the point that they noticed it," he recalled. "And I noticed that they noticed. That's enough to straighten you out."
Without divulging specifics, McGraw said his partying included dangerous amounts of "chemicals."
"I drank too much, I partied too much, and did other things too much," he explained. "Chemically. No needles or that kind of stuff, but … use your imagination."
Fortunately, not only has McGraw curbed his drinking, but he has gotten healthier, having lost over 40 pounds since getting sober.
"I was looking at some old concert shots the other day," he told Men's Health. "Man, my gut! I was up there in a see-through shirt – I thought I was lookin' good!"
McGraw will be on tour this summer ahead of his new album "Sundown Heaven Town" dropping this September.
