Country music star Trace Adkins has detailed the harrowing experience of being shot by an ex-wife in 1994, an incident he described as a "kill shot" that narrowly missed being fatal.
During a recent appearance on the "This Past Weekend with Theo Von" podcast, Adkins, 64, explained that one of his ex-wives "took it a little far" when she shot him during an argument. He stated that she fired the bullet under his left arm, and it exited under his right arm.
"She was mad. Wanted me to leave, and I wasn't going to leave, so that's how it went down," Adkins said. He recounted approaching her with his hand out as she held the gun, intending to ask for it before she fired.
Adkins described the immediate aftermath as a state of shock, recalling that his body protected him from feeling the initial impact of the gunshot. "I just remember getting up off the floor and then taking a few steps and then going back down and that's all I remember," he said. The bullet traveled straight through his heart and both lungs.
Doctors attributed his survival to the close range at which the shot was fired. "The doctor said the only reason I survived was cause the bullet went through at point-blank velocity at muzzle velocity. So it didn't have time to mushroom. It was just muzzle velocity, so it just went straight through," Adkins explained. The significant pain, he noted, came later during the recovery process, which involved surgery to repair his heart and lungs.
Despite the severity of the incident, Adkins stated he does not believe his ex-wife intended to kill him, suggesting she was unaware of the gun's potential. "I don't think she even had any idea what that gun was going to do," he said. He chose not to press charges against her.
"I'd never seen her hold a gun. I'd never seen her shoot a gun," Adkins added. "I just I don't think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger. She thought it was a toy."
The incident occurred in 1994 when Adkins was separating from his second wife, Julie Curtis, whom he divorced later that year. Adkins has been married four times. He is currently married to actress Victoria Pratt, whom he wed in October 2019.
In a separate conversation with Fox News Digital earlier in July, Adkins discussed his new single, "American Made," and the pride he and his wife share in their American heritage, noting Pratt's recent naturalization as a U.S. citizen. "She is so proud to be an American," he said. "My family's been here for over eight generations on both sides. I'm proud to be an American too, and you know, I think we're equally as proud so there you go."