Getty Images Sara Evans became close with Tony Dovolani on DWTS.
Season 3 “Dancing With the Stars” alum Sara Evans was going through a divorce while competing on the show. At one point, things with her now-ex-husband got so bad, that her pro partner, Tony Dovolani, stepped in to help out.
“When I filed for divorce and I had to leave the show, the next day, so there was a terrible thing that happened at the Grove,” Evans explained on the April 29 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast.
Evans told podcast host Cheryl Burke that there was an incident involving one of her kids. Evans had been out to eat after filing for divorce from Craig Schelske. At one point, he picked up their son, and walked out of the restaurant. Evans called Dovolani who had been dining next door.
“Tony started walking towards him, but he found two off-duty policemen that were eating. He basically picked them up and said, come with me. So they were coming our way.
Tony put his arm out and said, stop. I reached for my child, got him back,” Evans said.
“He would have killed my ex-husband that night,” Evans said a bit later in the podcast.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Praised Sara Evans for Her Interview With Cheryl Burke
After releasing the podcast episode, Burke took to Instagram to promote it.
“This was one of the most powerful and important conversations to date on @sexliesandspraytans. @saraevansmusic dives deep and gets real about why she decided to leave #DWTS halfway through season 3 due to marital challenges she faced at that time, her fight through personal turmoil, and why she thinks she would have won the show over Mr. Twinkle Toes himself, @emmittsmith22,” Burke captioned a photo of her and Evans.
Fans reacted to the interview in the comments section of the post.
“That was a great interview! Sara Evans is very real and down to earth,” one person wrote.
“I loved today’s episode of Sex, Lies and Spray Tans! I’m glad you got to interview Sara Evans,” someone else added.
Sara Evans Claimed Craig Schelske Emotionally Abused Her
In the court documents filed in 2006, Evans claimed that Schelske “has frequently verbally abused, emotionally abused and harassed” her, according to Today. She also claimed that Schelske watched porn “frequently” and he had photos of him having sex with other people.
The details of the divorce made it to the press around the same time that Evans decided it was best to remove herself from “Dancing With the Stars.”
“Recent events that shed light on the status of her marriage prompted Ms. Evans to make the filing, which was registered today [October 12] with a court in Tennessee, where Evans resides. A mother of three, Ms. Evans felt it was in her children’s best interest that she also withdraw from competition on Dancing with the Stars, an ABC television series that she has been part of this fall, to give her family her full attention at this difficult time. Ms. Evans hopes that her fans and TV viewers who’ve supported her in recent weeks and throughout her music career will respect and understand her need for privacy in the face of these recent events,” a rep for the country music star told Access Hollywood at the time (via Today).
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