Trace Adkins is well aware of the fact that, at least by medical standards, he should not be alive. The 64-year-old recently opened up about a painful incident in 1994, when his then-wife, Julie Curtis, shot him in the middle of an argument. Adkins says Curtis had no idea what the gun was capable of doing.
“I’d never seen her hold a gun,” he says on the This Past Weekend with Theo Von podcast (via People). “I’d never seen her shoot a gun. I knew she had one, but I’d never seen her use it,” he said. “I don’t think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger. She thought it was a toy.”
Adkins, perhaps surprisingly, declined to press charges. While he was severely wounded, and nearly died, Adkins says Curtis did not intend to kill him.
“She thought I was indestructible,” he maintains.
What Happened When Julie Curtis Shot Trace Adkins
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Curtis may not have known the power of the gun she shot, but it nearly ended Adkins’ life. The two were arguing, and Curtis wanted Adkins to leave, which he refused to do. Curtis reportedly put the gun under Adkins’ left arm and fired, with the bullet going straight through his heart and lungs.
“It was a kill shot,” Adkins reveals. “And the doctor 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.
“If it hadn’t been for that Life Flight and Vanderbilt Medical Center, I wouldn’t be here,” he adds.
Fortunately, Adkins made a full recovery. In 1996, Adkins released Dreamin’ Out Loud, his debut album.
Trace Adkins Looks Ahead in Country Music
Earlier this year, Adkins said he might consider retiring at the end of 2026. But when speaking on This Past Weekend, the Grand Ole Opry member said he wasn’t ready to call it quits anytime soon.
“As long as I can still sing those songs in the same key that I recorded them in and I can still hit the licks and hit the notes and do all the things that I need to do. I guess I’ll just keep doing it,” he says (via Country Now).
Still, Adkins says that he hopes he knows when it really is time to step away from the spotlight.
“I don’t want to be one of those guys,” he adds. “I’ve seen those guys. I’ve been to those shows where they’re still out doing it. And it’s like, ‘Dude, just quit. Just please stop. We don’t want to remember you like this.’ I don’t want anybody to say that about me ever.”
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