As Rascal Flatts embark on their Life Is a Highway Tour, which sees them reuniting for the first time in five years, we had the chance to get some one-on-one time with bassist and singer Jay DeMarcus.
DeMarcus was a guest on Taste of Country Nights, where host Evan Paul asked how it was working alongside a sober Joe Don Rooney.
DeMarcus said, “Sober Joe Don is incredible! I have to say I’m so proud of him for what he’s been through and what he’s been able to overcome.”
Rooney admits he struggled with alcohol for many years before he was arrested and charged with drunk driving in September of 2021, after he crashed his car into a tree in the early morning hours. He remained mostly out of the spotlight until Jan. 3, 2024, when he shared a long update, revealing that he and his wife, model Tiffany Fallon, had divorced and he had spent four months in rehab after pleading guilty to DUI.
The guitarist proudly shared that he was three years sober in September of 2024. The trio announced a new tour that October.
“I think he would tell you if he were sitting here that he’s still processing every day,” DeMarcus adds. “But I’ve seen him turn into a completely different person, it’s an unbelievable metamorphosis.”
Rascal Flatts will hit the road beginning Feb. 13.
DeMarcus says that Rooney “is so zoned in now, and so lucid and intentional about everything he does, and I’m so proud to see him in such a healthy space. It’s really, really cool.”
The band were set to embark on their farewell tour when COVID hit, and the pandemic shut it and everything else down. The band members didn’t speak to one another much during that time, or the years after.
They even revealed to us that they had not been in the same room with one another in five years when we spoke with them in October of 2024.
One thing is for sure, if you are headed to one of their shows on the Life Is a Highway Tour, you are in for a good time, as Rascal Flatts are fully rejuvenated and laser-focused on providing the best show possible for their fans.
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Country music has always had a little bit too close of a relationship with drinking, so it’s no surprise that some of the biggest stars in country music have been arrested for DUI.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
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