Angle was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania, the son of Jackie and David Angle. He attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in education in 1993. Angle has four older brothers (one of whom, Eric, is also a wrestler) and a sister, Le'Anne, who died in 2003. His father, a crane operator, was killed in a construction accident when Angle was 16, and Angle dedicated both his career and his autobiography to his father.

Angle was arrested at his home by police in Moon, Pennsylvania on September 28, 2007, on a charge of driving under the influence after being reported by a woman who claimed that he almost hit her while leaving a local restaurant. Officials said Angle failed a field sobriety test, but he refused a blood test. He was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving, but he denied the charges. On September 9, 2008, Angle was cleared of all charges.  On August 15, 2009, Pittsburgh-based NBC affiliate WPXI reported that Angle had been arrested. His girlfriend stated that she had filed a protection from abuse (PFA) order and that he was stalking her in the Robinson area. Angle was charged with "driving while operating privilege is suspended, prohibited acts-possession, harassment and prohibited acts". Hygetropin, a human growth hormone, was found in his car; Angle maintained that he had a prescription for the drug. On September 15, a District Court Judge dropped the harassment, suspended license, and drug charges against Angle. On November 9, 2009, the PFA charges were dropped after he and former girlfriend Trenesha Biggers reached an agreement to avoid contact with each other.  On March 25, 2011, Angle was arrested in Thompson, North Dakota and charged with "being in control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated" after failing a field sobriety test. Angle later pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced on April 20 to one year of unsupervised probation, a chemical dependency evaluation, a $250 fine, $225 in court fees, and a ten-day suspended sentence.  Angle was arrested on September 4, 2011, by Virginia State Troopers for allegedly driving under the influence. Angle was placed in Warren County Jail, before posting $2,000 bail and being released in the early morning. State police revealed that Angle's initial breath test at the scene, where he was stopped by police, showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.091 percent, which was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. The test was later ruled not admissible and when a second test, taken at the police station, showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.06, the DUI charge was dropped. Angle was still charged with reckless driving. On November 8, 2011, Angle entered a plea of no contest and was fined $1,500.  On August 2, 2013, Angle was again charged with driving while intoxicated in Decatur, Texas. Later that same day, Angle announced he was immediately entering a rehabilitation center.

Did he serve jail time?
On September 9, 2008, Angle was cleared of all charges.