Few lives in country music read like a country song quite like Trace Adkins‘. The baritone-voiced singer, known for hits like “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and “You’re Gonna Miss This,” has packed more drama into his personal life than most fiction writers could conjure. From his humble beginnings in Louisiana to the pinnacle of Nashville stardom, Adkins’ journey has been marked by extreme highs and terrifying lows. His family life, in particular, has been a whirlwind of four marriages, five daughters, and an incident so harrowing it almost ended his life: being shot point-blank in the chest by his own wife.
The story of Trace Adkins is, in many ways, a testament to survival and forgiveness. He has weathered a near-fatal gunshot, a long battle with alcoholism, and the dissolution of multiple marriages to find peace and stability later in life. Today, he is a devoted father and grandfather, crediting his current wife and his children with helping him stay healthy, both physically and mentally. To understand the man behind the music, one must look at the family that shaped him and the violent event that nearly took him away from them.
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A House Full of Daughters
Trace Adkins is the proud father of five daughters, a fact he embraces with the protective instinct of a man who calls himself a “girl dad”. His family is a blended one, reflecting his four marriages. With his first wife, Barbara Lewis, whom he married in 1982 and divorced in 1990, he shares his two eldest daughters: Tarah (born 1983) and Sarah (born 1985). Tarah is now married and has made Trace a grandfather, while Sarah has largely remained out of the public eye.
Following his tumultuous second marriage to Julie Curtis, Adkins found love again with his third wife, Rhonda Forlaw. They were married from 1997 until their split in 2014. During this time, they welcomed three more daughters: Mackenzie (born 1998), Brianna (born 2001), and Trinity (born 2004). His youngest three daughters have even appeared in his music videos.
Adkins has been open about the guilt he feels regarding his older daughters, acknowledging that they didn’t have the same sober, present father that his younger three did. In 2001, his daughters and third wife staged an intervention that ultimately pushed him to seek help for his alcoholism. Today, he is also a grandfather, further cementing his legacy as a family man at the center of a large, loving clan.
The Night He Was Shot by His Wife
The most dramatic and dangerous chapter of Trace Adkins’ life involves his second wife, Julie Lauren Curtis. The couple was married in 1991, but their union was volatile, largely fueled by Adkins’ struggle with alcohol. On the night of February 21, 1994, a confrontation over his drinking escalated into a life-or-death situation. During the argument, Curtis pointed a .38 pistol at him. Adkins made a threatening remark and tried to disarm her, and in that moment, she shot him.
The bullet struck him in the chest, passing through his heart and both lungs. It was, as he later described, a “kill shot”. He was rushed into emergency open-heart surgery, and the prognosis was grim. Adkins later wrote that doctors held little hope he would survive and told his family and friends to come in and say their goodbyes. Miraculously, he survived. When asked why he chose not to press charges against his now-ex-wife, Adkins reflected, “It wasn’t my time to go“. He has since stated that he forgave Curtis, believing she wasn’t truly trying to kill him.
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While the physical pain has faded, he admits the emotional scars from his broken relationships have lingered the longest. Today, safely married to his fourth wife, actress Victoria Pratt, whom he wed in 2019, Adkins has left those dark days behind, focusing on his music, his health, and his ever-growing family.
