Kurt Angle recently opened up about the tragic passing of his sister, Le’Anne Angle, in an interview with Danielle McCartan. The wrestling legend spoke candidly about his pill addiction during his WWE career, revealing how his sister’s death in 2003 made him realize the severity of his problem.
Angle recalled the moment he learned of his sister’s passing, just before his major Iron Man match against Brock Lesnar:
“I remember at one point in time, I was getting ready for the biggest match in my career. It was going to be a one-hour Iron Man match against Brock Lesnar. I was at a house show—the night before. I just got done wrestling, my brother, Eric called me. He said, ‘Listen, your sister Le’Anne just died of a heroin overdose.’ Man, that devastated me. I remember I went back to my hotel room, grabbed about 30 pills, threw them in my mouth, chewed them up, and swallowed them; I didn’t want to feel any pain and I passed out. I didn’t wake up until 4:30 in the afternoon the next day. The WWE was trying to get a hold of me all day long to tell me I didn’t have to show up for TV; I could go home and plan the funeral for my sister. I looked up at the ceiling and said, ‘Le’Anne, what do you want me to do?’ And all I could hear was, ‘Do it for me. Do it for me.’ So, I went and wrestled, and I had the greatest match of my career.”
Angle also reflected on the regret he feels for distancing himself from Le’Anne due to her addiction, despite battling his own issues at the time. He revealed his deep guilt over not having spoken to her before she passed:
“That’s what hurts the most looking back now, I mean, I was such a hypocrite. I didn’t have a chance to talk to my sister before she passed away because I had too much pride. I didn’t want her to know I had a drug problem. But I was criticizing her for hers. I said, ‘Listen, I’m not going to talk to you until you get clean.’ Unfortunately, she never got clean, and she passed away. So, I regret that decision.”
When asked what he would say to his sister if he had the chance again, Angle expressed his wish that they could have gone through rehab together:
“I’d tell her, listen, Le’Anne, I’m in this with you. We both need to go to rehab together. I would have loved to went to rehab with my sister, knowing that she was going to be with me, and I was going to be with her. I think we could have done it as a team, I think we’d both be clean and alive, today.”
Angle has been sober since 2013, following a lengthy battle with addiction that saw him go from pills to alcohol. He now reflects on his journey with sobriety and the missed opportunity to help his sister overcome her own struggles.
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