Today on Feral But Sober, we sit down with Keisha and Ronnie — a couple who walked through fire separately, together, and sometimes against each other, yet somehow found their way back to healing, recovery, and each other. Their story spans childhood trauma, addiction, loss, violence, relapse, jail time, and the kind of love that almost didn’t survive… but did. Ronnie’s story begins at just 13 years old, smoking weed and slipping into prescription pills that were handed to him like candy. By 16, surgeries and pain meds became his escape, and he learned how to manipulate the system to keep the high going. His health spiraled — infections, collapsed lungs, and constant medical crises — but the addiction kept tightening its grip. He met Keisha when he was 11, but their paths didn’t fully cross until their late teens. They used pills recreationally, drifted apart, came back together, had a child, and still couldn’t commit. Ronnie’s addiction deepened, and when a doctor cut him off cold turkey, he didn’t even know he was dope sick until a friend explained it — then shot him up with his first perk 30. Heroin followed soon after. Keisha’s story is its own storm. She grew up in a home with an abusive father who beat her mother. Her mother struggled with her own addictions and died in 2017. At just 13, Keisha smoked weed for the first time — in a joint laced with cocaine. Her teenage years were filled with fights, arrests, depression, and trauma, including sexual assault by her step‑grandfather at age 8. Her sister became pregnant at 14, then died in a car accident at 15, leaving Keisha shattered. She met Ronnie young, but their lives kept pulling them in and out of each other’s orbit. She lost her virginity at 13 to an older guy. She and Ronnie eventually ran pills from state to state. She had HPV, needed cervical surgery, and quit drugs during pregnancy — but relapsed after giving birth. Ronnie tried to “protect” her from addiction by telling her to take breaks, but he couldn’t stop himself. Keisha later married another man and had two more children, but he was abusive. Meanwhile, Ronnie spiraled deeper into heroin. Even when they weren’t together, they co‑parented their daughter and stayed connected through chaos. In 2017, Keisha left rehab and fell into meth. She met another man who pulled her away from the methadone clinic and into more abuse. She lived under control, fear, and manipulation. Ronnie went to jail for 34 months. On her deathbed, Keisha’s mother made Ronnie promise to always help Keisha — no matter what. Ronnie nearly died from lung infections and was put on medication-assisted treatment. When he got out, he returned to the clinic. Keisha visited him in the hospital, and even in their addiction, he helped her inject because she couldn’t do it herself. In 2020, they moved to Danville and tried again. They got into a clinic together. In 2025, they tried to buy a house, but the deal fell through. They ended up staying with a friend who was using cocaine. Depression hit Keisha hard. Ronnie went back to jail. Keisha went to treatment alone — and something finally clicked. Ronnie saw a spark in her he hadn’t seen in years. He asked if he should go to treatment “for her.” She told him the truth: “It won’t work unless you do it for yourself.” So he did. They entered couples treatment — a program that told them it would either make them or break them. It made them. After 24 years of knowing each other, they are finally meeting each other as the people they were always meant to be. Keisha leads with strength, Ronnie follows with humility, and together they walk side by side. They’ve applied for their first apartment as a sober couple. They’re rebuilding their family, their future, and their faith. Their story is messy, painful, beautiful, and real — a testament to what happens when two people refuse to give up on themselves or each other.
