Machine Gun Kelly’s journey to sobriety began with a change in his mindset.
While catching up with PEOPLE ahead of the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards, where he is both a nominee and a performer, 34-year-old MGK shared how he became sober by changing his perspective on life.
“I had to scale back and look at myself from a holistic perspective,” he told PEOPLE at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Thursday, Sept. 26.
“I was born on the 22nd. Twenty-two is the main number. What do I need to master here? I had to ask myself that question,” says Kelly, born Colson Baker. “What were my generational curses and problems that were passed down to me and my father? Rest in peace.”
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Machine Gun Kelly at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards at The Grand Ole Opry in September 2024.
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The “Emo Girl” artist says he found the answer in realizing that “my job is to be a good man.”
“I find comfort in knowing that I can, you know, punish myself today so I can forgive myself tomorrow,” Kelly says. “I have a daughter that I love with all my heart and would die for. And I have a beautiful family and a beautiful group of friends and a beautiful life to live for. And I’m no longer in the fog of not realizing that.”
During an appearance on the Bunnie Xo podcast Stupid blonde in August he revealed that he was “completely sober from everything”.
“I don’t drink anymore. I haven’t had a drink since last August. That’s when I went to rehab for the first time,” Kelly said.
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Machine Gun Kelly at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House in September 2024.
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Noting that he previously abused alcohol, marijuana and pills like hydrocodone, Percocet and Vyvanse, the rapper said his partner, Megan Fox, was a key part of his recovery.
See the entire PEOPLE report here.
“Megan was certainly very helpful in dealing with the kind of psychological withdrawal that comes with quitting drugs,” he said. “I still accept the fact that this journey will be difficult for me, but I accept it and forgive myself,” he explained.
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Machine Gun Kelly.
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That same month, he shared during an episode A game worth a million dollars podcast that he realized he had to get sober when his 15-year-old daughter Casie told him when she was about 11 or 12 that she knew when he was high.
“It took me a while after that, because obviously drugs have a vice over you. That was the first step for me,” Kelly said. “As a father and as a man, to be the father I wish my dad had been, I have to break this generational curse for my child.”
PCCA 2024 will air live on Thursday, September 26 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on NBC and Peacock from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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Source: HIS Education