DUKES OF HAZARD’s John Schneider Reflects on First Christmas Since Wife’s Death
By Movieguide® Contributor
DUKES OF HAZARD’s John Schneider opened up about how he’s dealt with the grief after his wife’s death and shared his plans to honor her this Christmas.
“It’s going to be rough,” Schneider told Fox News about his first Christmas without his wife, Alicia Allen. “Grief is a funny thing. Grief will sneak up on you and smack you in the back of the head. Truly, when you least expect it. But usually right as you’re having a great time.”
“It’s almost like grief says, ‘No, no, no, no, no. You’re not going to smile today. You’re not going to laugh today,” he continued. “But, you know, the notion that grief will ever go away is silly. Grief will never go away. It’s just something we learn to carry. And I’m learning. Not a lesson I ever wanted. Not a skill I ever wanted to acquire. But, you know, here it is. So, I’m making the best of it.”
The holidays tend to be a particularly difficult time after the death of a loved one. However, rather than wallow, Schneider plans to celebrate his wife by spending Christmastime with both his and her sides of the family.
“We’re going to spend all that time together, which is probably what we would have done if Alicia were here,” he said. “We’re going to celebrate her. We’re going to miss her. But it’s hard. It’s very hard.”
“We’re going to celebrate such a wonderful, wonderful life and such a force in all of our lives,” he added.
“My extended family through Alicia will always be my family,” Schneider continued. “So, I’ll be part of what they do, just as we were all part of what one another did for the last eight or nine years. So I’m going to keep that going.”
Beyond the Christmas traditions, Schneider has kept his wife very present in the projects he has worked on since her passing. This year, Schneider published a book that he co-wrote with Alicia, which documented her battle with cancer.
“It’s very, very helpful to anybody who has been told they have cancer,” he said. “It’s very helpful to anybody who loves someone who’s been told they have cancer. And believe it or not, it’s very, very healing for someone who has lost someone to cancer.”
Schneider also released a tribute album, “We’re Still Us,” to honor his relationship with his wife.
“I do believe it’s helpful, but honestly, I don’t see a time where this doesn’t hurt like hell,” he said of the album. “It hurt so bad to write. It hurt so bad to sing. But the final product is going to be healing for those who are going through this…statistically speaking, two people get married, one of them is going to die first.”
The actor also connected with Paul Sorvino’s widow, Dee Dee, who has helped him find new meaning since February.
“We’ve been thick as thieves,” Schneider said about him and Dee Dee. “It’s been great. She’s not a crying person. And I have not been a laughing person for a while… She’s been able to cry a little bit. We’re talking about Paul and talking about Alicia, and I’ve been able to laugh.”
“So, you know, God pays attention,” he added. “Otherwise, she’d have been sitting somewhere, not crying. I’d have been sitting somewhere not laughing… It’s been a good thing all the way around.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
John Schneider is opening up about his grieving process as he continues to mourn the death of his wife, Alicia.
“I could not have told Alicia Allain Schneider I love her any more than I did,” the DUKES OF HAZZARD star said, per MSN. “I miss everything, every day.”
He continued, “I have to get to the point where I look around and see where she is, not where she’s not. And I’m trying to do that, but that’s hard. Somehow I love her more every minute, but with that, somehow I miss her more every minute.”
The couple met in 2014 and quickly struck up a relationship, with Schneider calling them “kindred spirits.”
In 2019, Alicia was diagnosed with breast cancer. While she was undergoing treatment, they decided to get married.
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