Country music star Trace Adkins has recounted a harrowing 1994 incident in which his ex-wife, Julie Curtis, shot him through the heart. Appearing on the podcast This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Adkins, now 64, described the event with a notable sense of humor, calling the shooting "totally uncalled for."
The incident occurred during an argument about Adkins' drinking. He told Von that he did not believe his ex-wife intended to cause him serious harm, suggesting she may not have understood the danger of the firearm. "I don't think she even had any idea what that gun was gonna do," Adkins stated, adding that he had never seen her handle or fire a gun before. He likened her reaction to thinking the gun was a toy.
According to Adkins, the bullet passed through his heart and both lungs before exiting his right arm. His memories of the immediate aftermath are scarce, recalling only getting up from the floor, taking a few steps, and then collapsing again. He was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where doctors informed him that the close-range nature of the shot, which prevented the bullet from expanding, was critical in his survival.
Adkins underwent open-heart surgery following the shooting, an experience he described as agonizing. He noted the painful recovery process, during which medical professionals had to manipulate his body to reach his heart.
Adkins and Curtis divorced later in 1994. He stated that he did not press charges and harbors no hard feelings, believing that Curtis did not fully comprehend the potential consequences of her actions and that she perceived him as indestructible. He previously remarked in a 2022 interview with People that "It wasn't my time to go."
More than three decades later, Adkins continues to have routine check-ups with a heart doctor. Reflecting on the experience, he noted, "The physical pain – broken bones and surgeries and bullets and getting beat up and cut – has never really bothered me. I have a high tolerance for it. It's the broken hearts that left the deepest scars."
Adkins has been married four times. His previous marriages include one to Barbara Lewis, with whom he has two daughters, and Rhonda Forlaw, his wife from 1997 to 2014, with whom he shares three daughters. He married his current wife, Victoria Pratt, in 2019.