Country crooner Lorrie Morgan’s son Jesse Keith Whitley announced he was sober on Sunday – one month after he was rushed to the emergency room with pancreatitis.
‘It was serious,’ the 38-year-old nepo baby wrote on Facebook.
‘Me being me, on the way I wanted to get it out of the way so we could throw down for some football and cooking with cold beers and some cocktails. That wasn’t going to be the case, I was literally bed ridden for a solid seven maybe eight days.
‘I was in the worst pain of my life. When I tell you that I mean it, I consider myself to have a pretty high pain tolerance, this was the worst thing I have ever experienced.’
Whitley was likely referring to severe upper abdominal pain radiating to the back – a common symptom of pancreatitis – and heavy alcohol use can cause permanent inflammation and loss of organ function.
Coincidentally, the Christmas Letter singer had asked God for a sign about whether he was on the right path in life right before the health scare.
Country crooner Lorrie Morgan’s son Jesse Keith Whitley announced he was sober on Sunday – one month after he was rushed to the emergency room with pancreatitis (pictured in 2015)
‘I turned to my faith and prayed that God would give me the strength to best the demon that’s taken so much from me through my life,’ Whitley – who boasts 326,402 social media followers – wrote.
‘I said out loud “God help me back on the your road and I will never stray from you again.” Here we are a month later, my faith is stronger than ever, my health is rock solid, my foundation at home is better;
‘Back in the gym. SOBER! I feel fantastic waking up in the mornings not hurting or looking for the fix that afternoon.’
The avid deer hunter revealed his 66-year-old famous mother and extended family ‘knew but didn’t know the battle I was actually fighting for’ and he thanked them ‘for always loving me.’
It’s been 36 years since Whitley suffered the tragic loss of his father Keith Whitley at age 34 from acute ethanol poisoning due to a reported blood alcohol level of 0.47.
Morgan was only married to the legendary vocalist for two years before his passing and, in 2022, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
‘He’s got the best sad songs and love songs ever,’ Whitley said onstage at the time.
‘If you want a history lesson in country music, that’s who you need to listen to.’
There are three Keith Whitley memorial events scheduled for 2026 – the golf tournament on May 7, the ride between June 26-29 and there’s a concert for the fall.
The Messin’ with the Wrong Man singer also got sober for the sake of his three children – daughter Kimber, 6; daughter Kallie and son Konrad, 7 months – from his four-year marriage to wife Kristen.
The 38-year-old nepo baby wrote on Facebook: ‘I was literally bed ridden for a solid seven maybe eight days. ‘I was in the worst pain of my life. When I tell you that I mean it, I consider myself to have a pretty high pain tolerance, this was the worst thing I have ever experienced’ (pictured July 7)
Whitley was likely referring to severe upper abdominal pain radiating to the back – a common symptom of pancreatitis – and heavy alcohol use can cause permanent inflammation and loss of organ function
The Christmas Letter singer continued: ‘Here we are a month later, my faith is stronger than ever, my health is rock solid, my foundation at home is better; Back in the gym. SOBER! I feel fantastic waking up in the mornings not hurting or looking for the fix that afternoon’
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Whitley revealed his 66-year-old famous mother and extended family ‘knew but didn’t know the battle I was actually fighting for’ and he thanked them ‘for always loving me’ (pictured Monday)
‘[I wanna thank] my wife for taking care of me during my down time and giving me the strength to get back on my feet and go head forth!’ Whitley gushed Sunday.
‘My kids for loving me at my rock bottom and the motivation to become the best father I can be.’
Morgan is also mother to 45-year-old daughter Morgan Gaddis from her two-year marriage to first ex-husband Ron Gaddis, which ended in 1981.
The three-time Grammy nominee is still grieving the loss of her sixth husband Randy White on June 1 after 14 years of marriage.
The retired entrepreneur had just celebrated his 72nd birthday on May 15 before passing away following a year-long battle with mouth cancer and month-long hospitalization.
‘Randy has been my partner, my champion, and my rock for 17 years,’ Morgan wrote at the time.
‘Our big, wonderful family and I are devastated at the loss of this truly kind and incredible man. I was blessed by his love. Ran-Ran, I will love and miss you forever.’
It’s been 36 years since the avid deer hunter suffered the tragic loss of his father Keith Whitley at age 34 from acute ethanol poisoning due to a reported blood alcohol level of 0.47
Morgan was only married to the legendary vocalist for two years before his passing and, in 2022, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
There are three Keith Whitley memorial events scheduled for 2026 – the golf tournament on May 7, the ride between June 26-29 and there’s a concert for the fall (granddaughters pictured at his grave on June 28)
Whitley also got sober for the sake of his three children – daughter Kimber, 6; daughter Kallie and son Konrad, 7 months – from his four-year marriage to wife Kristen (pictured November 28)
Morgan is also mother to 45-year-old daughter Morgan Gaddis (R, pictured in 2019) from her two-year marriage to first ex-husband Ron Gaddis, which ended in 1981
The Dead Girl Walking singer is next scheduled to perform January 16 at the Grits & Glamour Show, which will be held at Hard Rock Live in Biloxi, MS.
Morgan originally made her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 13 thanks to her own famous father, George Morgan.
The Nashville native has reportedly sold 12 million records and still gets 427,770 monthly listeners on Spotify.
