Ashley McBryde Shares Why She ‘Didn’t Even Speak’ to Her Father ‘For Years’

Ashley McBryde is opening up about her long-strained relationship with her father in a new interview, revealing that she cut him out of her life for years.

McBryde appeared on the Human School Podcast on Oct. 6, where she discussed her complicated relationship with her father, William McBryde.

“I’ve done the anger part, and I did that for most of my life," the 43-year-old singer said (quote via People).

Why Is Ashley McBryde's Relationship With Her Father Strained?

In previous interviews, McBryde has portrayed her father as a farmer and preacher who was strict and angry. She's said he was unfaithful to her mother, and her parents divorced when the singer was 17 years old.

READ MORE: Ashley McBryde Opens Up About Going to Rehab

"I was mad at that man for most of my life and then when he left my mother and left us, I was even more...I didn’t even speak to him for years."

Calling anger the “easiest thing to feel,” McBryde acknowledged that eventually, she realized she could still choose a different way forward.

“I had been angry at my dad, and so I finally figured out — decided, you can stay angry at him, or you can find a way to still have a dad,” the CMA, ACM and Grammy Award-winning singer explained.

Why Did Ashley McBryde Forgive Her Father?

McBryde finally decided to seek grace for her father within herself by asking what had made him the way he was.

“He’s never going to ask [himself] that question...and I’m not going to excuse him. I’m not going to excuse a lifetime of tyranny," she said flatly.

"But his dad wasn’t very nice, and neither was his. He doesn’t know where to set that down, so he sat it on you."

McBryde addresses the topic of multi-generational trauma in a song titled "Hand Me Downs."

The song appears on her current album, Wild, which dropped in May.