John Schneider reveals the lie he told his dying wife in their final conversation – and it’s truly heartbreaking
Losing someone you love is a nightmarish prospect for all of us. Be it a good friend or family member, the pain we feel when a person we’re close to is indescribable, and sadly there’s nothing much we can really do apart from wait for time to potentially lessen the sting of the wounds suffered.
The Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider knows all too well what living with that sort of grief feels like. The actor lost his wife, Alicia Allain, to breast cancer in February, and we can only imagine how challenging the past few months have been as a result.
Recently, the 63-year-old opened up on the final moments he shared with Allain as she lay dying, admitting he told his partner a lie in a bid to make her more comfortable.
As per reports, Schneider and Allain revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2020. At the time, Allain said her symptoms had consisted of “aches and pains” which eventually “showed up on the skin.” After her diagnosis, doctors gave her three to five years to live.
Ultimately, Allain went into remission, but she tragically passed away in February 2023.
In a social media post announcing his wife’s death, the heartbroken John Schneider wrote: “My beautiful Smile is pain free, living in her new body alongside Jesus.
“Please respect our privacy during this time of grief. Please do not ask any questions. If you have any pictures of us and our obvious love and adoration for each other, please post them below. Lastly… hug those you love tight and let them know how you feel. We always did.”
Needless to say, the months following Allain’s passing have been extremely tough on Schneider who, according to Fox, recently shared some heartbreaking details of the last time he ever talked to his wife.
“I, of course, told her it was OK,” the actor revealed. “‘If you’re tired, if you want to go see your grandma, you want to go see your grandpa, if you want to go, then it’s OK. You go.’ And that was all the truth. … But then I lied, because I said, ‘Don’t worry about me; I’ll be OK.’
“That was a lie I had to tell, but she knew it. OK is a long way away. The last thing I said to her was, ‘I love you desperately, and I’ve got multiple sets of very long-term plans for you.’ And that’s true, because eternity’s a very long time, and I believe it. I’m counting on it.”
Schneider also said that he wasn’t present with his wife when she took her last breath. He believes that’s helped him somewhat during the grieving process.
“The thing that helped me most in the grieving process was I’m quite sure that she waited for me not to be there, because I think she knew I couldn’t handle it,” he said. “Her mom and her dad were there. Her daughter [Jessica Dollard] was there. Her daughter’s fiancé [Daniel Turner] was there. And I think she waited for me to be gone.
“I’m grateful for that, and then part of the pull-pull thing [of grief] is not wanting to admit that it happened. I still wake up in the morning, and I reach for her in groggy sleep. I keep my eyes closed, and I reach over, hoping maybe this was a dream. I’m a creative person. I have some very vivid dreams; maybe this is one of them.”
Our hearts go out to John Schneider and the rest of Alicia Allain’s loved ones at this time.
Share this article to join us in sending prayers to John. Rest in peace, Alicia!
