2. He Allegedly Physically Assaulted His Ex-Wife Debra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9pbhJlZWJ4 The biggest black mark in Austin's life is that he allegedly assaulted his wife, former WWE diva Debra, in 2002. The couple was married in September 2000. Here's a report from
thesmokinggun.com on June 17, 2002:
The wife of Stone Cold Steve Austin told San Antonio cops Saturday (6/15) that the professional wrestler assaulted her following an argument, leaving her with a welt on her face and bruises on her back, according to this police incident report. Responding to a 911 call, officers found Debra Williams, 42, standing at the front door of her home crying. She told cops that her husband 'hit her several times after an argument' and left the residence after she called police.
In November of 2002, Austin pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge that he beat his wife, netting him a year-long probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service. He also wasn't allowed to drink alcohol, which was mentioned on WWE TV when he came back to the company, and no guilty plea was entered on his record. The couple ended up getting a divorce in 2003. During an appearance on
Inside Edition in 2007 following the Chris Benoit double murder homicide, Debra claimed that during their 3 year marriage Austin earned as much as $12 million a year. She also said that Austin took steroids. Since Austin wasn't charged for the incident with his ex-wife and Debra didn't press charges, it's hard to know what is true. Perhaps she was scared to pursue it because he was such a big name. We don't know. All we know is that Austin did face some punishment although he never served jail time and moved on with his life after it was over. He has since re-married. It's unfortunate that it happened and it's not something Austin or WWE wants to talk about with good reason, but when it happened it really was a big story.