Trace Adkins’ wife, Victoria Pratt, maybe his source of joy today, but did you know that she’s not the first woman in the “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” singer’s life? As a matter of fact, there are three more before her.
The country icon is definitely no stranger to heartbreaks and tough times. His singing career may have continued to thrive over the years, but his life has sometimes seemed like one sappy love song. Yet, somehow, he always managed to make it.
Let’s take a look back to Trace Adkin’s eventful marriages. Keep on reading below.
Victoria Pratt
On October 12, 2019, Trace Adkins married Victoria Pratt during a romantic ceremony officiated by fellow country star Blake Shelton in New Orleans, Louisiana. The happy couple’s wedding took place at the Maison Montegut, located in the city’s French Quarter.
If Victoria Pratt looks familiar to you, this is because she’s an actress. In fact, she first met Adkins when they both starred in The Virginian film in 2013. Pratt, who hails from Chesley, Ontario, Canada, studied kinesiology and worked as a fitness model before she pursued a career in acting.
She quickly found success during her stint as a fitness model. She graced several magazine covers and worked alongside World Wrestling Entertainment stars, Torrie Wilson and Trish Stratus. Eventually, Victoria Pratt began to land high-profile acting roles on TV all through the late 90s. Her most notable appearances include Xena: Warrior Princess, Once a Thief, Cleopatra 2525, and Mutant X.
In 1998, Victoria Pratt finally made her film debut in Legacy, alongside David Hasselhoff, directed by her first husband, T. J. Scott. She has continued making guest appearances on several hit TV series. She also continued modeling. In 2011, she was named Oxygen Magazine’s “Cover Girl.”
Pratt is also a published author of adult fiction. In 2015, she released her first book, Double Down, a fiction about a small-town cop who fell in love with a mobster’s brother and possible murder suspect.
Today, Pratt is living a happy life with Trace Adkins, and the two are very successful in keeping their relationship as private as possible. You will rarely hear them talk about each other during interviews. Still, they frequently make appearances on each other’s social media accounts, as far back as at least early 2017, and it’s pretty sweet to see that the couple seem to share a silly sense of humor.
For instance, one Instagram post in January 2020 showed Pratt donning a fake mustache during Adkins’ birthday celebration. She also wrote in the caption, “They say when a couple gets hitched, they start to look alike … so that’s happening.” If that’s not true love, what is?
Rhonda Forlaw
Third wife Rhonda Forlaw used to work as a publicity manager at Arista Records. She first met Trace Adkins while he was playing in a club. Forlaw told People, “The first time I saw him, I knew he was going to be a star.”
And thanks to her connections, she managed to helped Trace land a deal with Capitol Nashville. In 1996, Trace released his debut album, Dreamin’ Out Loud, which established him as a rising star. The album has produced several hit singles, including his first Top 5 single, “Every Light in the House.”
Trace Adkins made his Grand Ole Opry debut in November 1996, and the unexpected happened. When he had finished singing “Every Light In the House,” he invited Forlaw onto the stage and dropped on one knee. He asked Forlaw to marry him, and of course, she said yes.
On May 11, 1997, Trace Adkins and Rhonda Forlaw finally exchanged vows at Nashville’s stunning historic Belle Meade Mansion in front of more than 500 guests. Of course, Adkins did not let the night end without serenading his bride. He sang a song he wrote with Kenny Beard, “The Rest of Mine.” The guests described the event as being a fairy tale.
Unfortunately, the couple did not get their ‘happily ever after’ ending. In March 2014, Forlaw filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. It was also reported that she asked for primary custody of their three daughters, Mackenzie, Brianna, and Trinity, and for Adkins to pay child support, alimony, and all her legal fees.
According to Adkins’ attorney, Larry Hayes, Jr, the pair amicably settled their divorce in the first half of 2015.
Julie Curtis
Trace Adkins’ marriage with his second wife, Julie Curtis, is really one for the books. Adkins, who has survived two fatal car accidents, almost met with death on one February night in 1994. The “You’re Gonna Miss This” singer recounted that he and Julie had gotten into an argument about his drinking habits, but things quickly escalated into violence.
Curtis picked up the family handgun. Being overconfident with his masculinity, the country star “tried to scare it out of her hand. I said, ‘Give me the gun, or I’m gonna take it away from you and beat your damn brains out with it.’ I would never have done that, but I told her in hopes that it would scare her.”
Bullets went through his heart as well as on both of his lungs. “The doctors held little hope that I would survive,” Adkins wrote about the incident in his autobiography, “and told my family and friends to go in and say goodbye.”
Luckily, Adkins was rushed to the hospital just in time before things got grave. He also chose to let things go and did not press charges against Curtis. The two divorced after three years of marriage.
Barbara Lewis
It would be an understatement to say that the country singer is no stranger to injury. His history of mishaps actually goes back to his youth. When he was 17, Adkins got involved in an automobile accident which resulted in fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and even the tip of his nose was ripped off.
Due to the accident, the future country legend dropped out of college to get a job and marry his hometown sweetheart, Barbara Lewis. But the marriage was short-lived. It only lasted to four years but was blessed with two daughters, Tarah and Sarah.
With three ex-wives and a life with his true love, guess it’s safe to say that Trace Adkins was right after all, “Ladies Love Country Boys.”