Former Miss America Tawny Elaine Godin, also known as Tawny Little or Tawny Little-Welch, was John’s first wife. Right off the bat, this relationship already had dramas: while dating each other, John (and The Dukes of Hazzard co-star Tom Wopat) was actually embroiled in a controversy against Warner Bros when they both quit the show after Warner Bros allegedly refused to pay them their royalties from the series’ merchandise and script approvals.
Their marriage lasted around 3 years, getting married in 1983 and divorcing in 1986. It was said that the divorce was due to unavoidable circumstances.
It was noted that for quite some time after his divorce from Tawny, John Schneider remained single until he decided to marry Elvira “Elly” Castle in 1993, making her his second wife. This marriage lasted longer than his first marriage—21 years—until TMZ announced their divorce in 2014. They had 3 children; Leah and Chasen from Elly’s first marriage and Karis from their marriage. This time around, the divorce was rough, and they had a court case over property and money, ending with the court sending Schneider to jail in the process. It was a 5-year legal battle, and even after Castle won the case, there seems to have bad blood still between them.
But his legal battle with Elly didn’t stop John from dating Alicia Allain in 2015. Alicia was John’s personal and professional manager, on top of being his producing partner and the owner of Maven Entertainment.
They met in 2014, and if you’ve noticed, it’s the same year that John and Elly filed for a divorce. Apparently, Alicia was looking to get back into indie filmmaking after a long break and called up John for a discussion over dinner. And although they did meet in Atlanta for dinner, their romance actually only started several months after, once John was divorced.