Joe Don Rooney is setting the record straight by letting everyone know that he's straight amid rumors that he was transitioning into a woman. The former Rascal Flatts guitarist and singer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, to "send a message out to the world."
He started off his post, "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 to the world."
"First off, I am alive!" he continued. "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."
"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," he wrote. "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."
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He went on to reveal that he's had an issue with drinking for "many years" and noted how in AA meetings they called it a progressive disease. He admitted that as he grew older, his drinking problems grew worse.
"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. And btw, going to jail sucks!"
Joe went on to say that his crash could have landed him in federal prison for life. "That event lead me to treatment for my alcoholism for 4 months in the beautiful mountains of Utah. When I first got there, I didn’t want to stay. I was ashamed of myself," he explained. "I was so full of fear and guilt, that it took me all of the those 4 months to really start understanding treatment and the AA way and how to best utilize these new tools that I downloaded from the amazing clinicians, counselors and other patients there."
"My life has been changed forever – and I’m grateful for the change.
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."
"God intervened and helped me to get my life back," Joe said. "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. 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."
He ended his post by thanking God. "It’s an absolute blessing in ways I can barely put into proper words. But for now, I’ll just say – thank you God!! I wish there was a way I could give back to God what all God has given to me – but moving forward, I will do my best to reflect God’s light of love and grace onto others like so many have done for me."
