Kurt Angle Opens Up About Dark Battles With Addiction, Sisters Death & More

On his official website, former WWE and TNA star Kurt Angle opened up in a very in-depth, honest manner regarding his dark battles with addiction throughout his legendary pro wrestling career.

In the blog, Angle addresses becoming addicted to pain pills and having his addiction issues intensified when his sister died of a heroin overdose and he himself went through a number of injuries, including breaking his neck three times.

Regarding when his addiction began, Angle revealed that it all started as a result of being prescribed pain medication for his neck injury in 2003.

“My addiction started when I was prescribed painkillers for a neck injury in 2003. I didn’t know how powerful the opiate drug was until I found myself taking an insurmountable amount of Vicodin. To be exact, I was taking 65 extra strength Vicodin per day. I started taking one pill a day, and before long kept doubling the dose over and over again. I loved the feeling it gave me, because it allowed me not to feel anything.”

As he continued, Angle wrote about his sisters death from a heroin overdose and how he eventually parted ways with WWE.

“The pills made me feel invincible and kept me in the game, until my sister Le’Anne died of a heroin overdose, not long after my surgery. I didn’t want to feel pain, or anything. I had not grieved for my father, my grandmother, my coach or my sister, and I wasn’t about to begin. At least not with the success I was having in WWE. I felt like everything was being taken away from me.

“So I started taking more and more Vicodin, stuffing the pain deep inside of me. Before I knew it, I was knee deep (more like shoulder deep) into my addiction. I was hiding it from WWE, and at that time they weren’t drug testing for medication like they do now. I then broke my neck 2 more times over the next 2 years, and the bad relationship/marriage I was in made me feel more alone than ever. I decided that I could not handle the rigorous schedule of WWE and I felt guilty about being a liability to Vince McMahon. So I asked for my release and I swore I’d get my life together.

Angle also touched on his TNA career and finally becoming sober, claiming he has remained sober for the past three years.

“After I went to TNA, I was taking a lower dose of medication but I didn’t entirely quit. I started drinking alcohol excessively and went through a bad divorce. Eventually, I found the true love of my life, my wife Giovanna. But I kept taking the pills and drinking until I passed out each night. I knew it wasn’t fair to my wife or my kids, but I did everything I could to hide my feelings and emotional pain.

“I had a successful career with TNA as I did in WWE, but I ruined any good reputation I had by receiving 4 DUIs in 5 years. I knew I had to do something to save my life and my marriage, so I checked into rehab and I’ve been clean and sober for over 3 years.”

Check out the complete Kurt Angle blog at his official website, KurtAngleBrand.com.