Sara Evans Quits ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and Files for Divorce

You may have seen the news stories already – Sara Evans has quit Dancing with the Stars for personal reasons. ABC has not said much except that Sara will appear on the show Tuesday (perhaps through a recorded statement) to explain herself. So they can even turn this into ratings.

According to ET Online, the country singer filed for divorce from her husband Craig Schelske and now wants custody of their three children who range in age from two to seven. The reasons for the divorce as listed in official court papers include verbal abuse, harassment, excessive consumption of alcohol, and adultery.

Sara further claims that Craig saved personal sex ads and pictures of himself having sex with other women on his computer. The Tennessean and other news outlets also report that one of the couple’s children walked in on Craig while he was watching pornography in their home.

Sara recently requested a temporary restraining order against her husband in order to prevent him from taking their children to his home state of Oregon. The restraining order also prohibits him from physically and verbally abusing her, exposing their children to any type of pornography, and drinking alcohol excessively in front of them; it’s a shame when you need a court document to tell you not to commit these acts in front of your children!

Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba said that she wishes Sara could have remained in the competition with her professional dance partner Tony Dovolani, as dancing can be very therapeutic and helpful during stressful times. There’s no doubt that Sara’s fans would have also liked for her to continue. Despite several unconvincing performances, Sara remained in the competition ahead of stronger dancers such as Vivica A. Fox and Willa Ford thanks to her loyal fan base. While Sara has stated that she appreciates the support she is receiving from her backers, she also released the typical statement to the press asking for privacy and respect during this difficult time in her life.

ABC has not yet addressed how Sara’s departure from the show will affect the remaining weeks of competition. Will this be a free week for the dancers? Will ABC have to cut the highly-rated series a week short? Will they bring back the most recently-eliminated contestant? Presumably, we’ll find out Tuesday.

Sadly, if this situation had happened to Sara several months ago, fewer people would have known about it; if it had occurred a couple of weeks from now, not as many people would have given it much thought. However, since it occurred in the middle of the Dancing with the Stars season, it is now in the national spotlight. Nobody should have to go through the type of hurt and embarrassment that Sara is undoubtedly experiencing. Unfortunately, though, when you are a star, your private and personal moments suddenly become very public matters.

While the fallout from this announcement continues, RNO will be here to cover all of the action and future developments. And as always, friends, feel free to send your thoughts and comments to me about this story and all things related to Dancing with the Stars.

Jill is an east coast mama who loves sharks, zombie movies, and reality television. She welcomes your comments about these and other subjects, and can be reached at jilljones@verizon.net.

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