Entertainment Music Country Music 'American Idol' Alum Constantine Maroulis Reveals He's Been 'Clean and Sober' for Over 20 Months Constantine Maroulis, who placed sixth in season 4 of the hit show in 2005, has not consumed drugs or alcohol for almost two years By Abigail Adams Abigail Adams Abigail Adams is a Human Interest Writer and Reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working in journalism for seven years. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 16, 2021 01:18PM EDT Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images Constantine Maroulis says he has not consumed drugs or alcohol for nearly two years. "I've been actually clean and sober now over 20 months, no drinks ... and just kinda working on myself a lot," the 45-year-old American Idol alum told OK! Magazine from his New Jersey home on Thursday. Maroulis, who placed sixth in season 4 of the hit show in 2005, committed to the change shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. The singer admitted lockdown "could have been ugly" for him had he not gotten sober when he did. "It started off like, I'm just gonna put this pen down, the vape, the drinks and just chill, and then it was a few months, and then it was six months, then it was a year, then it was now almost two years," Maroulis told OK! Magazine. Bobby Bank/Getty Images Constantine Maroulis Arrested for Domestic Violence "Now at my age, [I'm] like, 'Why am I doing that?' I'm glad I caught that because if it were when my dear friend [Nick Cordero] was dying in a coma during the shutdown or when the sky was falling, it could have been [bad]," Maroulis said. He added: "Sitting around in my robe all day, hitting the vape or something like that — that's not sexy in your 40s." Donald Kravitz/Getty Images Constantine Maroulis Granted Restraining Order, Planning Criminal Charges Against Ex Prior to getting sober, Maroulis faced a slew of legal issues. The bulk of the problems took place in August 2015 with his then-girlfriend Angel Reed, who he met on the set of Rock of Ages in 2008. On August 12, Reed called 911 and alleged Maroulis had thrown her to the ground and kicked her during a dispute. He was arrested the following day on domestic abuse charges. The court dropped all charges in September 2015 at Reed's request. The couple eventually split. Constantine Maroulis Arrested for Second Time in a Week, Set to Appear in Court as Ex Accuses Him of Cheating Maroulis' new path also includes a new project: The Constantine Maroulis Show. The program will feature the singer playing his favorites from the '70s, '80s and '90s and interviewing special guests. He even plans to get listeners involved with a special karaoke segment. "We opened up last week with some Poison, we [played] Joan Jett, we had a little Temptations, we sent them home with Karaoke with Constantine, which is a fun moment that we end the show with where a caller can be a part of the show and trade verses with me," Maroulis said.