After losing their spouses within the past two years, John Schneider and Dee Dee Sorvino never anticipated falling in love again. But in a surprising turn of events, the couple found each other in the midst of their grief. They instantly connected and tied the knot during a surprise wedding in Las Vegas last month.
"I never thought I'd hold another hand or laugh again," the "Dukes of Hazzard" actor, 64, exclusively told Fox News Digital during their wedding celebration at the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles on Aug. 1.
John's late wife, Alicia Allain Schneider, died in 2023 at the age of 53 after a four-year battle with breast cancer. Dee Dee's late husband, acclaimed actor Paul Sorvino, died in 2022 after suffering health issues. He was 83.
"There is something to be said about commiserating because we didn't expect it," said John, who called his first meeting with Dee Dee pure "magic."
"I don't think Dee Dee expected to be able to cry, because she kind of tucks things away and hides and pretends to be really tough. So it was, it was very unexpected, and very foreign and a little scary."
While finding comfort in one another, the couple couldn't help but feel a sense of "guilt."
"I think because we did lose our spouses, and we were very happy in those relationships, you can't help but feel guilt," said Dee Dee.
"I really actually felt guilty," John admitted. "I felt guilty, it's like, ‘Whoa, what is this?’ I was more judgmental toward me than maybe anybody else. But what worked ultimately for me is the laughter. It sounds like such a maybe a minor thing, but laughter is so important."
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"I really didn't think I'd find love again," Dee Dee added. "I thought I was done. I'm like, 'Never again. I'm done.' And that's OK. I had the love of my life, and I'll just be single and work and no problem. And then this one comes along and changes all of that. And we just laughed immediately. And I was further along than John, so I think he felt more guilt."
Within his grief journey, John said he realized people tend to "put a timeline" on things and had certain expectations on how and when he should be moving forward.
"People want to put some sort of a timeline on your grief," he said. "And grief is its very own animal. People are saying, ‘You really need to move on.’ You don't ever really move on. You don't stop missing your spouse when your spouse dies. It's not a divorce, so you don't stop missing them. But just as many people said that you need to move on, other people would say, 'It's too soon.'"
"[Grief] is a terrible thing to go through. So if you can find someone that can help you go through it and then fall in love with that person that is helping you get through it, helping you find a place to put it, and you can help them find a place to put it, then it's magic."
As the two continue to navigate their individual losses while also enjoying their newlywed bliss, they can agree on one thing for sure – their late spouses led them to one another.
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"Paul said, ‘I want you to find love again after me. Please, I'm begging you.' I said, ‘No way, no how. Not happening.’ But then I did," she said. "So I feel like Paul brought John to me. I feel good about it. I felt more grateful."
JOHN SCHNEIDER, DEE DEE SORVINO SAY THEIR LATE SPOUSES ARE ‘RESPONSIBLE’ FOR BRINGING THEM TOGETHER
"I think Alicia and Paul are both actually really responsible for us getting together, and I, I truly believe that," said John. "I need to believe that. So I think Alicia's delighted… because I'm a mess. And this is a fixer here. You know, she's funny and she's cute and she's all those things, but she's very meticulous, and I'm a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, and I need it to be put back together, and this is the one that can do it."
And while it may seem quick to many, the duo has given themselves plenty of grace.
"It's hard to have all your plans go away," said John. "And then it's hard to want to believe that you are worthy of making any more. And then you meet somebody that makes you laugh, and you meet somebody that makes you go, you know, 'It's OK.' It's OK to want to live, because I didn't. And she knows that."
"My God, if it wasn't for her, if she hadn't come around, if that crazy dame over there hadn't come around… I didn't want to be here," he admitted. "So there's a huge, huge difference in finding someone that makes it OK to do this because she hurts, too. We miss them. But we hang onto each other. We love each other. And loving each other doesn't make us, it doesn't diminish Paul or Alicia in any regard. In fact, I think in many respects, it actually keeps them closer."
Now, as they move forward with their lives together, John and Dee Dee plan to never take each other or their time together for granted.
"We are, we're a lot of fun, and we're a lot of things, but I think we're a very, very, productive, fun couple," said John. "We're going to do a lot of things, and we're going to enjoy every one of them from now on out. It's all about laughter. It's about adventure, and it's about success. And if you don't fit into that category, you're out."
