John Schneider was 'hurt' when his children stopped talking to him as he began dating late wife Alicia Allain
HOLDEN, LOUISIANA: John Schneider, a renowned actor and country music singer, who recently lost his wife Alicia Allain Schneider to breast cancer, is the father of four children. Schneider, 52, revealed that he had a strained relationship with his children while going through a divorce with his former wife Elly Castle.
'The Dukes of Hazzard' star discussed the unfortunate circumstance in 2018 with ET's Katie Krause as he said, "I never thought, in the vision of my life, [what I never saw] was not having a relationship with my children. It more than hurts. 'Hurt' is a tiny, tiny word. I don't have a word for what that feels like." The country music singer then mentioned that he wishes to get back in touch with his children. "I think they know that, and it's kind of up to them what they do with that," he said. It is unknown if Schneider and his children had since patched up their relationship.
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Who are John Schneider's children?
Schneider has four children, one of whom is a biological daughter. Just after getting married to Castle, a mother of three, Schneider, who had divorced his first wife Tawny Little, became a father. In 2012, Schneider stated, "My wife and I have four kids – Mandy, Leah, Chasen and Karis – and I'm father to all of them, but I’m Karis’s biological father," according to Fathers.
Schneider added, "So when I married Elly, she had three children, and we immediately became a family because I wanted to be a dad... wanted, wanted, wanted to be a dad." On July 11, 1993, they exchanged vows, and remained married till 2019. The dynamics of the relationship between Schneider and his four children changed as a result of his separation from Castle.
Karis
Karis is the biological child of Schneider and his ex-wife Castle. Karis, an active-duty firefighter who adores handicrafts and nature, was born in 1997. She founded the business Wilder Woodworks and posts pictures of her daily projects on Instagram.
Mandy
Castle, who had met Schneider at a church picnic, gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Many Castle, at the age of 15. She reportedly gave up Mandy for adoption because she couldn't handle raising a child at such a young age, according to AmoMama. After giving Mandy up for adoption, the two ultimately had an opportunity to get back together, and Castle learned that she was a grandmother. Mandy has a husband and lives in Atlanta with him. She is the mother of a son who plays football with the UFC Knights and a daughter named Bylee Ford.
Game day❤️🏈 Good Luck to my boy and his team!! #Knights pic.twitter.com/w7d7SyGXX0
— Mandy Castle (@mandycastle14) September 28, 2019
Leah
Leah, a second daughter that Castle had from a past relationship, had reportedly worked as a behind-the-scenes crew member of 'Project Runway' (2005–2013) and 'Project Runway All Stars' (2013–2014), according to Hollywood Life. Not much else is known about her than that. Schneider previously acknowledged that he didn't want to be distant from his daughters while working in Hollywood. "My desire was, I didn't want to be a guest in my house," he told Fathers. "I wanted my kids to know that I kept coming back so that I could just hang out with them and be a dad at home."
Chasen
Chasen was born on December 31, 1991, and carried on his father's acting profession despite not being Schneider's biological child. He worked on 'The Secret Life of The American Teenager' (2008-2011), 'Anderson Bench' (2016), and 'Hate Crime' (2017). Thereafter, in order to advance his craft, he relocated to Britain before finally settling in Brooklyn.
A look into John Schneider's relationship with Alicia Allain
Schneider married his third wife Allain on September 25, 2019, in a Louisiana courtroom. Schneider met Allain in 2014, just before he and Castle filed for divorce. Allain, a producer and performer, worked in the makeup section on film sets. He took care of Allain after she learned she had breast cancer and until her death. MEAWW previously covered the tragic death of Allain, who died on February 21, 2023, at the age of 53.