Country music star John Rich is opening up about how his faith helped him break free from a destructive gambling addiction that once took hold of his life. In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” singer reflected on how success in his 20s and 30s led him down a dangerous path — and how he finally found the strength to walk away for good.

“The last time I played a hand of blackjack was in 2010,” Rich admitted. “Find me a grown man who never had a horrible problem—I’d like to meet him. I’m human like everybody else.”

Rich said his love of blackjack started as a harmless thrill but soon became all-consuming. “I loved a blackjack table,” he recalled. “I was good at it, but it got to the point where it was a dominating thing for me. Like I would go way out of my way, and then it’s probably like— I was never into drugs—but as you hear about drugs, you gotta take more and more and more to get to the same level. Well, gambling’s the same way.”

He said it began with small bets — $5 a hand — and gradually escalated into thousands of dollars. “You start out at $5 a hand, and then it’s $20, and then it’s $50, and then it’s $100, and then it’s $1,000, and then it’s $5,000,” he said.

Eventually, the realization hit him that his gambling wasn’t just about money — it was about how he was using the success God had given him. “It was so disrespectful to take what God had given me and blessed me with success, and I’m taking this success and instead of giving it to people, helping other people with it, or helping my own family with it, I’m putting it on a stupid blackjack table,” Rich said. “It just seemed so gross to me that I was living that way and thinking that way that I just stopped.”

Rich said his turnaround was immediate. “I didn’t ratchet it down little by little. I literally just stopped. 2010 was the last time I played a hand of blackjack.”

The singer credited that conviction to God’s discipline and grace. “He was letting me know how disappointed and displeased He was on how I was handling and managing what He had given me,” Rich said. “He gives you the ability to go earn the money in the first place, and then He makes the money come in. So the whole circle is all Him. None of it’s you. And so, you take it as if it’s yours and go out here and recklessly put it in harm’s way.”

That experience reshaped how Rich thinks about money, purpose, and gratitude. Today, he’s using his platform to take on darker issues — including child trafficking — through his new single and short film, The Righteous Hunter. The powerful project follows those who hunt down predators and aims to raise awareness about protecting children. “It gets right to the point,” he said. “It’s one of the most aggressive lyrics I’ve ever written, maybe the most, but it came from a spot down in my soul as a father. There’s literally nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my two sons.”

Rich worked with professional sting units and even collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security to make the film authentic and educational. “The DHS agent said your child should be a hard target [online],” he noted. “Predators will move right past them if they see that they can’t get to them easily.”

Now, instead of chasing fleeting highs, Rich says he’s focused on what truly matters — faith, family, and simplicity. With Christmas approaching, his favorite traditions include making his late grandmother’s fried chicken recipe, opening one present on Christmas Eve, and dressing up his bulldogs in funny clothes.

“I think that the simple things in life like that are the absolute most valuable,” he said. “The real memories that you hang on to the longest are the ones I’m talking about — putting goofy clothes on the dogs, opening one present, and making your grandma’s fried chicken recipe. That’s the stuff I really cling to memory-wise.”