Joe Don Rooney, 48, cleared up some “rumors” about his life in a new social media statement. The former Rascal Flatts member took to Twitter on January 3 and, after noting that it’s “been a while” since he’s engaged with his fans on social media, he clarified that there’s no truth to the speculation that he is transitioning to a woman.
“First off, I am alive!” Joe began his message. ‘There have been so many rumors and opinions thrown around about me — but I am 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.”
Joe then reflected on his September 2021 DUI arrest where he crashed his car into a tree and was sentenced to two days in jail. The famous musician acknowledged that he was “completely out of control” with his drinking at the time.
I’m sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted on any socials. It’s actually been a couple years since I’ve engaged with fans and friends on Twitter (now X) or Instagram.
But I figured today, at the beginning of this brand new year 2024, would be a good day to send a message out…— JDR (@JoeDonRooney) January 3, 2024
“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,” he said. “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.”
Joe shared that he is sober now after going to a rehab facility in Utah for four months. “My life has been changed forever – and I’m grateful for the change,” Joe wrote. “I’ve been sober now for almost 28 months come this Jan 13. I never believed I could actually live my life without drinking. It had become such a huge part of my daily and nightly routine. I had tried to stop on my own in the past but the powerful nature of alcohol always found its way back into my life.”
“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 added. “Now, I need to protect my family and protect my sobriety. I have new healthy boundaries for the first time in my life. Only positive, loving, caring & understanding people may enter.”
Joe’s message comes one month after he finalized his divorce from Tiffany Fallon Rooney. The exes split in January 2021, eight months before Joe was arrested for a DUI. Their final divorce paperwork revealed that the pair’s 17-year marriage felt apart because of Joe’s struggles with alcoholism and the end of the Rascal Flatts, according to PEOPLE. The former couple shares three children, son Jagger, 17, and daughters Raquel, 13, and Devon, 9.