John Schneider and Dee Dee Sorvino marry in surprise Las Vegas wedding
FILE - (L-R) John Schneider and Dee Dee Sorvino attend the 11th Annual Unbridled Eve Kentucky Derby Gala at The Galt House Hotel on May 3, 2024. in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Unbridled Eve)
John Schneider and Dee Dee Sorvino are officially husband and wife.
The "Dukes of Hazzard" star said "I do" to Paul Sorvino's widow during a surprise wedding in Las Vegas recently, Fox News Digital confirmed.
"Just when we thought our happiest days were forever behind us …. WE HAPPENED," the couple shared in a statement provided by their representative.
Schneider and Sorvino will host an official wedding celebration next week to mark the anniversary of their first meeting.
Their rep told Fox News Digital, "They are giddy like teenagers."
The surprise wedding took place at Vegas Weddings in the back of a white convertible that was once owned by music star Usher.
Both Sorvino and Schneider lost their spouses within the past two years. Schneider only recently revealed his relationship while chatting on the "Grace Begins, The Podcast."
"God sent a widower to a widow and a widow to a widower who [gets] it, who understands. Because I tell you what, I was ready to give it up, all of it — everything," he said.
"Then just when I thought the very notion of dating or holding another hand was repulsive, I met this one, that crazy dame over there."
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.
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Dee Dee remembered how Fox News played a pivotal part in their relationship as they first met in the green room while waiting for separate appearances on the network, and even announced their surprise elopement while on Neil Cavuto's show in 2015.
"If not for Fox, we would not be married. And Neil Cavuto, we called him Dr. Love," she said. "We would always joke about this because Paul knew he wanted to marry me right away."
Late actor Paul Sorvino joined Neil Cavuto on Fox News in January 2015 to announce that he had married Dee Dee Benkie in December 2014. The "Goodfellas" star died in July 2022. (Fox News)
She remembered Paul would play a "big, tough monster" on screen, but deep down, he was truly a "very sweet, very respectful" gentleman.
"Paul was just a universally loved actor, and of course, I adored him every minute," she said. "I got so lucky that he pursued me like he did. And I'm like, wow, I really have had a wonderful life with this man. The only problem is, it was just too short."