Tony Raines is sober and thriving, one year after The Challenge star was arrested for allegedly causing a multi-car crash and charged with Operating While Intoxicated (OWI).
On Wednesday, the soon-to-be dad of three posted a life update to social media, proudly telling fans in the caption of his video, “I’ve given up…in a good way.” Tony then revealed that this is the longest he’s ever gone without consuming alcohol.
“If anybody knows me, y’all know that I’ve had a[n] interesting relationship with alcohol,” Tony said. “A year ago, I decided to drop it completely.”
While Tony didn’t mention it in his video, this week also marks one year since he was arrested in Louisiana for allegedly causing a multi-car crash that reportedly left four individuals injured, for which he was charged with OWI, as well as Reckless Operation and four counts of Negligent Injuring. (Tony also had an alcohol-related arrest back in 2016 for drinking in public.)
The 37-year-old’s February 2025 arrest came just weeks after his ex and The Real World: Skeletons co-star Madison Channing Walls– who is also the mother of his eldest daughter, Harper– was arrested for possession of meth and fentanyl.
As fans of ‘The Challenge’ know, Tony also shares daughter Isla with wife Alyssa Giacone and on Christmas, the couple announced that they will be welcoming another child to their family this summer. They’ve since revealed that they are expecting another daughter. (Harper regularly visits her dad, stepmom and half-sister in Louisiana, despite being raised by her mom’s parents in Texas.)
Tony told fans this week that becoming a teetotaler has made his life “incredibly better” over the last year, before going on to recall some of his past drinking habits.
“I wasn’t the type of guy that was drinking everyday, but when I drank, I drank, and when I wanted to have a good time, I drank and had a good time– sometimes too good of a time,” Tony admitted. “But just the consistency now that I have knowing, ‘Hey, what I feel like right now is how I’m gonna feel tomorrow; the person I am right now is exactly who I’m gonna be tomorrow; what I say now is still gonna hold the same weight tomorrow.’
“All of that, you just build on it and it really is amazing,” he added.
Tony went on to claim that he can’t see himself ever going back to drinking alcohol “at all, period,” insisting that his only regret is not giving booze the boot sooner.
“We’re gonna keep it going,” the former MTV star said of his sobriety journey. “Anybody out there that has thought about giving up drinking, I highly encourage it.”
Watch Tony’s life update video below.
(Photos: MTV; TikTok; Instagram)
