John Schneider Calls The Masked Singer the ‘Glue That Held Me Together’ After Wife Alicia’s Death (Exclusive)

Warning: This post contains spoilers from the Season 10 finale Masked singer.

John Schneider managed to find a silver lining in an unimaginably difficult year.

During the season 10 finale on Wednesday Masked singerSchneider — dressed as a cute Donut — finished as runner-up, placing second behind R&B singer NE-YO.

His appearance on the popular Fox show came at the right time, says Schneider, who lost his wife, Alicia, to breast cancer in February.

“What an amazing opportunity to be able to honor Alicia, to be able to honor people who are grieving, maybe educate people who are grieving a little bit, in front of millions of people,” he tells PEOPLE. “I’m a pretty strong guy, but I’m also a very emotional guy. To be out there on that stage dressed like a donut, singing some of the greatest songs ever written and having people react to the songs and the performance without any idea that it’s me, really, it really helped John Schneider.”

“It really helped me get through the worst year of my life. So I’m so glad I did it,” he adds.

Here, Schneider, 63, talks to PEOPLE about his appearance on Masked singer, what it was like to perform as Donut, why he feels a higher power played a role in his choice – and costume! — and his plans for after the show.

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From left: Donut on ‘The Masked Singer’ and John Schneider.

Michael Becker/FOX; Getty

PEOPLE: Why did you decide to join Masked singer? Is it something you’ve seen before?

JOHN SCHNEIDER: It was one of the shows that Alicia really wanted me to do. She would always say, ‘You have to do it Masked singer.’ I fully expected Alicia to be there to help one day … so when that opportunity came, I just had to look up at the sky and smile because, of course, she’s still running things, but further. And then when they said, ‘We’d love for you to be Donut.’

Every Saturday, Alicia would go to our local donut shop and buy me a bag of apple fritters. And I would eat one, just one, but donuts were a part of my life. They were a part of Alicia’s and my marriage and relationship for a long time. So again, they said, ‘Doughnut,’ and I just had to look up at the sky and say, ‘Well, of course. This is you. It has to be you.’

John Schneider as Donut in ‘The Masked Singer’.

Michael Becker / FOX

Well, that made me smile. It made me laugh at a time I hadn’t laughed in a while. These were great signs, they were “God’s nods” as we call them, that this was indeed the real thing. So I was excited about it from the start. I loved every minute.

It was a great opportunity to be able to have fun, yes, and have fun, yes, but also grieve and let people know that it’s okay. Grieving is something you have to do. And I loved that the grief donut actually helps people who are on the same path. It’s not the job I ever wanted. It’s nothing I ever really wanted to understand. But that’s the hand I’ve been dealt. And I make the most of it, in honor of my beautiful wife.

John Schneider and his late wife Alicia Allain Schneider.

Courtesy of John Schneider

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How would you say this experience helped you deal with your sadness and helped you get back to doing the things that bring you joy?

It’s the perfect opportunity because I got to be in front of people, openly grieving, but no one knew who I was, which was great. What an amazing opportunity to be able to honor Alicia, to be able to honor people who are grieving, maybe educate people who are grieving a little bit, in front of millions of people? God, what a platform.

For me, Masked singer it really is the glue that has held me together for the past few months. It was vital. It made people aware of the music, also aware that grief is a process. I think grief is something that needs to be talked about publicly. It should not be singled out and hidden. The more you talk about it, the more power you give yourself and the more power, I think, you take away from your grief.

John Schneider as Donut in ‘The Masked Singer’.

Michael Becker/FOX

How does this experience compare to other things you’ve done this year to honor Alicia’s life and deal with your grief? (Schneider released a new studio album, It’s still usand the book he wrote together with Alicia under the title In the driver’s seat: love, loss and life without regrets.)

My new album celebrates Alicia. Talk about sadness. It is good for those who are grieving. I was able to finish her book and publish her book, In the driver’s seat, which I think will be incredibly helpful to anyone who has been told they have cancer. It’s about taking over your own diagnosis. And I extinguished the young moonlight.

But I’ll tell you what? The support in all of this, the reason I was strong enough to do it all, was really because Masked singer. Really, working Masked singer empowered me… I’m a pretty strong guy, but I’m also a very emotional guy. Being out there on that stage dressed like a donut, singing some of the greatest songs ever written, and having people react to the songs and performance without any idea that it was me, really, really helped John Schneider.

It really helped me get through the worst year of my life. So I’m thrilled to have done it. I am honored to have done so. I am impressed with the way they are doing this show. I sang a lot on stage. I performed on Broadway and in concerts. I mean, gosh, I’ve been doing this for 40 years, but I’ve never experienced a group of people who do what they do with such excellence. From start to finish, it was the greatest experience I’ve had doing music on television.

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John Schneider and his late wife Alicia Allain Schneider.

Courtesy of John Schneider

What was it like performing as Donut? Were there any mishaps that weren’t caught on camera or any funny behind-the-scenes stories to share?

The only accident at all [was that] I run every morning so I would run from Hollywood Boulevard, up around Yamashiro [Asian fusian restaurant], and I hurt my leg. So in the final, I don’t know if you can tell I’m limping or not, but I actually broke my big toe. I had to put on these monstrous shoes and all that to maneuver backstage and then get on stage and then this time when I ran across the little runway to sing in front of the judges. I did it with a 50 pound Donut suit and a broken left big toe. So it was my own fault. I probably shouldn’t have gone up around Yamashiro. But it’s a habit [to run] and I don’t want to give up that habit. That was difficult.

The only other thing is trying to get used to my head because I wear a hat on top of a donut that is two meters from my stomach. So whenever I got a little excited and tilted my head too much, if I threw my head back then the chinstrap would pull on my chin and I wouldn’t be able to open my mouth. So there was a lot of math in that donut costume while I was singing. But the great thing is that you do a rehearsal backstage … and you can move your head around and see how much freedom you have or don’t have. But when you’re on stage, you’re alone. It was a big challenge.

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How did it feel to receive such a positive reception from the judges?

If I close my eyes, I can see the judges crying and I can see them jumping to their feet [after my performances]. And I’ll tell you what? It’s healing for me. It is very, very healing. This experience helped me get through, in a very big and very productive and magnificent way, the worst year of my life. So I’m forever in debt. I really, really did.

Tom Wopat (left) as Luke Duke and John Schneider as Bo Duke in the CBS television series “The Dukes of Hazzard.”

CBS via Getty

You managed to do a lot this year. What’s next for you in 2024?

There’s a movie I’m writing right now. That’s the third one. So that’s on my bucket list, to finish the trilogy that Alicia and I always planned to be a trilogy and one didn’t work out. So I will do that. And I really hope so Masked singer want now so many more people know that I sing. I really hope that it will be a huge boost to the music I make, not only It’s still us, but things in the future. Maybe my 26th album will be the album that makes people think, ‘Oh yeah, John Schneider, the singer who was on The Dukes of Hazzard,’ not the other way around. Actually, he’ll probably be like, ‘He’s a donut,’ but I guess he’ll be a donut forever. Or maybe Bonut, like Bo Duke, Bonut!

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Masked singer can be streamed on Hulu.

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