Lauren Alaina Tearfully Tells Fans Her Father Relapsed Before Passing, Will Donate His Clothes To Veterans: “Be Kind To Yourself… Life Is So Short”

Lauren Alaina

Sending a message of hope when she’s in a cloak of darkness and grief.

Lauren Alaina has never been one to shy away from her emotions, and as a girl who also cries very easily, I’ve always seen it as a special gift. Being able to feel motions that deeply is such a blessing, but at times it can also feel like a curse when you are trying to put on a brave face.

In a recent video, Lauren Alaina tries her best to be brave but breaks down on camera when talking about her late father’s 13th anniversary of sobriety. Alaina’s father, J.J. Suddeth, was a massive part of her life and passed away suddenly in 2024.

“We lost my daddy last night, and I really don’t have words yet.” 

She wrote in a post that later announced she was canceling shows to be with family and process the huge loss of her father. Suddeth was his daughter’s number one fan, as most dads are, attending many of her shows. And the way that Alaina depicted their relationship online also highlighted that closeness. But their relationship was far from a perfect father/daughter relationship as Alaina’s father struggled with addiction.

Suddeth dealt with alcoholism throughout his life, and Alaina often shared with her fans her experience with having a father who was trying to keep his sobriety. On his 5th sobriety anniversary, Alaina penned:

“I am trying so hard to find the words to describe what today means to me. My daddy celebrates five years of sobriety today. His bravery and will power in the last few years has been so inspiring.

He hit rock bottom and built his way back up to the top. Dad- You are the best example of what it means to better yourself every day. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my daddy. I love you so much. FIVE. YEARS. SOBER.”

The other day, Alaina hopped online on what would have been her father’s 13th anniversary of being sober. She was tearfully honest with her fans that he broke his sobriety after many years of maintaining it, and that was sadly a factor in his death.

“This is a really hard video for me to make, but I’m going to do it to honor my dad. Today would have been his 13th year of sobriety if he had made it. He passed away a little over a year ago, but he didn’t make it to his 12th year either. I’m not even sure about his 11th. He relapsed, and it was a major contributing factor to why he’s no longer here with us.

I just wanted to say that if you’re struggling, there are so many people who love you. And for you to love yourself and to get the help that you need, and surround yourself with people who love you…

I’m here going through my dad’s clothes that I have, and I’m going to pick out some of my favorites and make a blanket for my daughter. I’m going to donate the rest to a veteran organization. So that maybe there’s a man out there who needs it that can wear my dad’s clothes and find hope, find the hope that my dad couldn’t find. 

Be kind to yourself, be kind to others. Life is so short. Take care of yourselves. There are people that love you. Don’t ever forget that.”

Alaina tearfully says to the camera. She expanded on her thoughts in the post’s caption, noting that this day is much more emotional for her than his birthday or Father’s Day. I can only imagine that her mind wanders to thoughts of “what could have been” on this day every year, and rightfully evokes a range of emotions surrounding it.

“My heart aches today more than it did for his birthday or Father’s Day. In a perfect world, we would be celebrating 13 years of his sobriety. Today, I choose to honor him still. He was a proud father and pawpaw. He was a proud Army veteran. He was smart. He was kind. He was the funniest person I have ever met. He always had the answer to any question I had. He is so missed.

Love yourself and others. Prioritize your mental health. Surround yourself with people who help you in your healing journey. I so wish my dad had done this. If you know any veterans organization that could benefit from my daddy’s belongings, please share below. I know that would make him proud.”

Lauren Alaina is courageous for vulnerably sharing this information with her fans, and it serves as a reminder that some folks are suffering in silence. Her message to fans who are also struggling to remember that there are folks out there who love and care about them is a powerful reminder to all.

Alaina has not revealed details of how her father passed, and we don’t want to speculate, but as she mentioned in the video, his relapse was a factor in his death.

Rest in peace, J.J. Suddeth.