“I Don’t Think She Knew What Was About To Happen When She Pulled That Trigger”: Country Icon Says He’s Never Believed His Ex-Wife Meant To Shoot Him

There are more than enough tales about Trace Adkins’ time in country music. Spending decades in country music, the singer has continued to share his love for the genre. But among all his stories, nothing compared to the time he nearly died in 1994. Married to Julie Lauren Curtis at that time, Adkins quickly learned his wife was not a fan of his drinking. After a day of work and drinking, he found himself staring down the barrel of a .38 special. But now, even after 30 years, Adkins claimed Curtis wasn’t trying to kill him when she pulled the trigger.

Having told the story on more than one occasion, Adkins recounted what it was like to be shot. “Your body and mind does a beautiful thing. In order to protect you, it shuts down. You feel nothing. I did feel pressure, like someone was standing on top of me and I couldn’t catch my breath.”  

Other than being shot, the reason Adkins couldn’t catch his breath was that the bullet went straight through his heart. “It went straight through my heart and both my lungs. It was a kill shot. The doctors said the only reason I survived was because 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 went straight through.” 

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Trace Adkins Believes Former Wife Thought Gun Was A Toy

Appearing on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Adkins was asked if he thought Curtis really wanted him dead. He answered, “I don’t think so, man. I don’t think she even had any idea what that gun was gonna do. 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 had a bunch of guns — still have a bunch of guns…” 

With Curtis not knowing much about guns, Adkins added, “I don’t think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger. She thought it was a toy, you know?” 

While some might have a different opinion of Curtis’ motivation behind the incident, Adkins still wondered why they didn’t just walk away. “That took it a little far, I thought. That was uncalled for. That was totally uncalled for. Just leave. Let’s just call it quits; we don’t have to go that far.” 

Although the shooting had heartbreak, whiskey, and regret, Adkins never turned the ordeal into a hit song. Instead, he chose to leave one of the darkest moments of his life out of his music.

(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)