Jake Owen is addressing his out-of-character moment online from earlier this week.
The “Fool Like Me” singer scared fans earlier this week, sharing a vulnerable stream-of-consciousness video of his thoughts online before quickly deleting it from his social media stories. In the footage, Owen is crying, looking very devastated. In the video, Owen speaks into the camera about how much he regrets entering the music industry, questioning why he keeps pursuing a career that seems to be ruining his personal life.
Owen also shared that he got dressed up to give his ex-fiancée a check so she’d give him back his engagement ring, pointing to a small package in the passenger seat, indicating the ring was in that package. Before abruptly ending the video, noting that “when it’s over it’s over” and signed off with a “Merry Christmas.”
After Owen shared the video and then quickly deleted it, fans quickly expressed concern for him, worrying that he had broken his four years of sobriety. Owen gives the impression online of a very wise, strong man, so for him to show so much emotion feels very erratic and raises a few red flags.
However, Jake Owen is clearing things up himself and informing fans that they have nothing to worry about. Yesterday, December 11, Owen took to social media to address the raw moment and reassure fans that he has not broken his sobriety.
“What’s up, y’all? Jake here, again, back in a better frame of mind. I really feel responsible and owe it to you all to hop on here unscripted after thinking about some things that happened, you know, the other day when I popped on here and was just overly emotional, and kind of let myself break down in front of the world. You know, my world consists of my little girls, I’m a father, I’m a son, I’m a brother, I’m a friend to so many people, and I’m worried I scared a lot of people. And I’m regretful for that because I don’t want to worry anybody.
I’m okay. I am fine, and seeing that myself made me realize that we all do have things that we have to work on, and I just broke down. A 44-year-old guy that showed his emotion, and I was supposed to be strong, you know. I’m supposed to be a dad; that’s the strong one. I’m supposed to be a band leader, and I’m supposed to be the guy that has everything figured out, you know. And I just want to tell you all, no matter who is watching this, is like I for sure don’t have it figured out. And I’m working on that.”
Jake Owen then says that after this video, which is now deleted, he’s had so many people checking in on him. Owen informed fans that the vulnerable footage was recorded at 10 am after he left his business manager’s office.
While Owen, as afore mentioned, assured fans that he’s still sober, he did vulnerably admit that the feelings he was experiencing that day were very similar to the day that he woke up and decided to get sober. He felt like he was letting people down and was not the man he aspires to be.
“I realize I still have healing to do, I still have things I need to fix. I’m not fixed yet. And I’m grateful for those people out there who have reached out to me to tell me that you can, you’d be there for me. I love you for that, I’m grateful for that.
I guess I’m being long-winded, but I wanted to let you guys know I’m okay. I’m going to keep working on me. Thanks for spending the last four minutes watching this, if it made any sense. But I’m going to be good, I love you guys.”
It seems like Owen is going to log off after that, but keeps going with the message that, despite his crying about how much he dislikes the music business and career choice, he informs fans that those thoughts came from the emotions he was experiencing and were not sincere expressions of his true feelings.
“Oh, by the way, this has nothing to do with country music. Yesterday I said I don’t want to do this anymore. I said I hate…The music business sucks. The music business does not suck. All these people that I’m talking about are friends that I’ve made, I’ve made because of the music business. All the people who are calling me are in the music business. I think I was just in an emotional place where I felt like my dreams that I followed, I fulfilled. But it’s also deteriorating my family life, and a lot of that is due to my own decisions and choices that I have to be accountable for—just wanted you guys to know that. I’m not on drugs, I’m not intoxicated. I’m just a guy that’s in a place in his life where I’m just trying to figure out how to be a better man, and I’m on my way.
So love you. Sorry if I scared you. Thank you for your messages…”
While I am sure Owen feels some shame and embarrassment that so many people were worried about him, it’s nice that he cleared it up with fans and let them know he’s okay. As someone who often cries every day, I relate to these overwhelming emotions that can sometimes lead to overreactions. When a famous musician cries on social media, it naturally sparks some concern, but there’s nothing wrong with showing your emotions.
We are glad that everything is all good, and we hope that you continue on your path of healing.
