Guitarist Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts fame announced in a post on X that he is not pursuing a transgender transition and has never considered doing so.
“There have been so many rumors and opinions thrown around about me – but I’m finally healthy and ready for the world. And NO, I’m not transitioning to be a woman. That thought has never entered my mind. Nothing against the trans community whatsoever but I needed to set the record straight,” Rooney noted in the social media post.
The musician — who is divorced, according to People — discussed his past as an alcoholic, noting that he had been a poor husband, father, and band member, but that he has now been sober for nearly 28 months.
“My life and career took a major detour at 4a in the early morning hours of Sep 9, 2021 when I ran square into a tree and about killed myself. 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,” he wrote.
“The pressures of my career and the many mistakes I made in regards to my home life, coupled with a lot of pain and trauma from my childhood and early on in my adult life, had become too much to bear. I was not a good father – I was not a good husband – and I was not a good band mate to my business partners. I probably would’ve never taken responsibility for any of this if it hadn’t been for my car wreck on Sep 9, 2021,” he wrote.
“Fortunately, (and I truly believe this,) God lead me into that tree safely enough to not kill me – and luckily nobody else was involved and I didn’t injure or kill anyone,” he said. “That event lead me to treatment for my alcoholism for 4 months in the beautiful mountains of Utah.”
“God intervened and helped me to get my life back. With the help of my family and so many other professional clinical advisors and now numerous new sober forever friends, I’ve been able to get the train back on the tracks and live without the burden of alcohol,” he wrote.
Rascal Flatts had planned to do a farewell tour in 2020, but it was ultimately canceled.
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