Trace Adkins had a sense of humor while speaking about a shocking 1994 incident in which his ex-wife Julie Curtis shot him through the heart.
The 64-year-old musical artist, appearing on the This Past Weekend with Theo Von podcast Tuesday, said in a joking tone, ‘That took it a little far, I thought – that was uncalled for – that was totally uncalled for.’
The Sarepta, Louisiana native continued, ‘Just leave; let’s just call it quits and we don’t have to go that far.’
The Honky Tonk Badonkadonk artist said that the shooting took place amid a row about his drinking, and that he did not believe it was intentional on her part.
‘I don’t think she even had any idea what that gun was gonna do,’ Adkins told Von in the exchange. ‘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.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Adkins for further comment on the story.
Trace Adkins, 64, had a sense of humor while speaking about a shocking 1994 incident in which his ex-wife Julie Curtis shot him through the heart
Adkins seen onstage in Thousand Oaks, California on February 11, 2019
Adkins said of Curtis: ‘I don’t think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger – she thought it was a toy.’
The shooting stemmed out of a row over Curtis’ anger that Adkins did not want to leave their home at the time, the musician told Von.
He said that when she fired the gun, it ‘went straight through my heart and both my lungs,’ exiting his right arm.
Adkins said he had scant memories of the violent incident: ‘I just remember getting off the floor, taking a few steps and then going back down – that’s all I remember.’
He was subsequently transported via airlift to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where doctors said that being shot ‘at point blank’ range played a critical role in him making it out of the incident alive.
Due to the close distance, Adkins said, the bullet ‘didn’t have time to mushroom’ and cause further damage to his person.
Adkins said it had been agonizing following open-heart surgery he had to undergo in the wake of the shooting.
He added, ‘The recovery from something like that, that hurts – they don’t care, they just stretch everything and break stuff. They’re just trying to get to your heart to save your life.’
The Honky Tonk Badonkadonk artist said that the shooting took place amid a row about his drinking, and that he did not believe it was intentional on his ex-wife’s part
Adkins pictured in LA in 1997, three years following the shooting
He wed his current spouse Victoria Pratt in 2019; The two are pictured in 2022
Adkins and Curtis divorced later in 1994, and he never pressed charges against her, adding that he didn’t harbor any hard feelings following the incident.
The Ladies Love Country Boys artist added, ‘I’ve just always felt like I don’t think she meant to do it – I just don’t think she thought it was gonna hurt me. She thought I was indestructible.’
Adkins remarked on the shooting in a 2022 interview with People, ‘It wasn’t my time to go.’
He said that he has made routine visits to a heart doctor in more than three decades since the shooting.
‘It was painful, but it didn’t sear my memory,’ Adkins said. ‘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 a total of four times: to Barbara Lewis, who he shares two daughters with.
Following his marriage to Curtis, he had been wed to Rhonda Forlaw, who he shares three daughters with, from 1997-2014. He wed his current spouse Victoria Pratt in 2019.
