‘I thought I was dying’
Arquette changed his ways after near-death wrestling accident
Actor David Arquette was scared straight into turning his back on his “daredevil” lifestyle after almost losing his life in a professional wrestling accident in 2018.
The Scream star decided to put his wrestling skills to the test by stepping into the ring for a so-called ‘death match’ against Nick Gage, but the clash turned into a bloodbath after Arquette was stabbed in the neck with a piece of broken glass from a light bulb stunt.
He played down the incident at the time, but required emergency medical attention, and subsequently admitted he was “lucky to be alive.”
Now the father of three, who endured a troubled childhood, battled substance abuse, and lost his sibling, Alexis, in 2016, reveals his brush with death was a big wake-up call, and forced him to reevaluate his priorities.
“I thought I was dying,” Arquette, 48, recalls to People magazine. “I got out of the ring and I was totally lost. I couldn’t see and I couldn’t hear.
“There was a certain carefree, daredevil aspect about the way I lived life previously,” he continues. “But I didn’t want to die. With the death match, I was doing it on purpose. I was feeling pain to numb pain. Afterwards, I realized I needed to be kind to myself.”
Arquette began undergoing therapy to work through the personal issues of his past, and it’s done wonders for his mental wellbeing: “I learned to love myself,” he says. “I had to stop being self-destructive and making choices that were throwing bombs.”
He’s also determined to focus more on “trying to live in the moment” and appreciating what he has, instead of obsessing about the future.
“I’m not invincible and there have been times in my life where I didn’t want to go on,” he confesses.
“But I’m proud of my kids, I’m proud of my wife, and I’m proud of my family. And when you start to like yourself, it’s easier to feel at peace.”
Arquette has been married to Christina McLarty, the mother of his two young sons, since 2015, while he also shares 16-year-old daughter Coco with ex-wife, Courteney Cox.
He relives his wrestling close call in new documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette, which is released digitally on Aug. 28.
I had to stop being self-destructive and making choices that were throwing bombs. David Arquette