Actor John Schneider provided Dancing With the Stars viewers with a mix of pain and joy during the show’s “Country Night” episode.
Before he danced a jazzed number with partner Emma Slater, the Dukes of Hazzard actor confessed that country music meant more to him than most realized. Country music has helped him get through a rough divorce and the severed relationships with his children that followed.
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“What country music means to me is it’s three chords and the truth and it shines a light on things that happen in everyday life that are wonderful, not so wonderful, and that are heart-wrenching,” Schneider said. “I’ve been going through a divorce now for four years and it’s awful. The worst part about it is that it’s wedged itself in between my three adult children and myself. Nothing I can do except hope one day one of my kids will call me up or show up. I look in the crowd every Monday thinking maybe tonight, maybe tonight.”
He added, “If it weren’t for this music and now Dancing with the Stars, I don’t think I can survive it. It gives me great joy at a time where I desperately needed it.”
Schneider channeled that “great joy” into his performance on Monday night. He juggled multiple dance partners in a jazz number set to a cover of John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”
The number starts with the actor dressed in a cowboy get-up, complete with a bandana and cowboy hat. He soon emerges from some corn stalks, tosses the hat and joins Slater on the main dance floor.
The number ends with Slater pulling on Schneider’s suspenders as he falls back into the arms of some fellow cowboys, before they regroup and land a grand finale pose.
I don’t know who you kids of @John_Schneider are, but lord jesus go see your daddy dance!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔 john, I’ll be your daughter 😭😭😭😭 #dwts #brbcrying
— Brittany (@beeehard) November 6, 2018
Schneider’s emotional testimonial and spirited performance led to an outpouring of support for him.
“I don’t know who you kids of John Schneider are, but lord Jesus go see your daddy dance!!!!” one fan wrote. “John, I’ll be your daughter.”
Another added, “I agree. Coming from a person that would do anything to see my parents again, that touched me.”
Reading through your messages, comments, and I cannot thank you enough for giving me this platform. #DWTS has been the most rewarding journey all because of you.
— John Schneider (@John_Schneider) November 6, 2018
Schnieder took to Twitter to thank the DWTS fanbase for all the support, calling the overall experience “rewarding.”
“Reading through your messages, comments, and I cannot thank you enough for giving me this platform,” Schneider wrote. “DWTS has been the most rewarding journey all because of you.”
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo Credit: ABC
