Trace Adkins Explains Why He Forgives His Ex-Wife for Shooting & Nearly Killing Him

Trace Adkins doesn’t hold a grudge against his second wife, Julie Curtis, even after she shot him during a 1994 argument, nearly taking his life.

In an appearance on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast posted Tuesday (July 28), the country icon reflected on the conflict that ended with Curtis shooting him at point-blank range. “Yeah, that took it a little far, I thought,” he joked at first. “That was totally uncalled for. Just leave. Let’s just call it quits, we don’t have to go that far.”

When asked whether his ex-wife intended to seriously harm him when she fired at him, Adkins continued, “I don’t think so … I’d never seen her hold a gun, I’d never seen her shoot a gun. I knew she had one, but I’d never seen her use it.”

“I don’t think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger,” he continued, also noting that he had “a bunch of guns” in his possession at the time, and still does. “She thought it was a toy. She was mad, yeah. Wanted me to leave, and I wouldn’t leave. She put it under my left arm, and the bullet came out of my right arm, so it went straight through.”

Adkins recalled how doctors told him that the only reason he survived was Curtis’ close proximity to him in the moment she fired what he called a “kill shot,” preventing the bullet from gaining enough velocity to mushroom. The aftermath was still harrowing, with the CMA Award winner explaining that he needed emergency trauma surgery to save his life immediately after the shooting, as well as a follow-up open heart surgery six months later to repair the organ’s septum after it didn’t heal properly.

Nonetheless, Adkins doesn’t hold any ill will toward Curtis, against whom he chose not to press charges. “Oh, yeah,” he said when Von asked whether the musician had forgiven his former spouse. “I just always felt … she didn’t mean to do it, man. She thought I was indestructible.”

Now married to Canadian actress Victoria Pratt since 2019, Adkins has had four wives over the course of his adult life. His first marriage was to Barbara Lewis — with whom he shares daughters Tarah and Sarah — after which he was wed to Curtis from 1991 to 1994, according to People. He and his third wife, music industry consultant Rhonda Forlaw, tied the knot in 1997 and welcomed three daughters together — Mackenzie, Brianna and Trinity — before splitting in 2014.

Adkins has notched 20 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 to date as well as 37 songs on the Hot Country Songs chart, where four of his hits have reached No. 1.

Watch Adkins’ full interview above.