In an surprise announcement, Dancing with the Stars celebrity Sara Evans has announced that she has decided to quit the popular ABC reality ballroom dancing series due to personal reasons.

ADVERTISEMENT

Evans' unexpected decision -- announced late Thursday evening -- came hours after she filed for divorce from Craig Schelske, her husband of thirteen years, earlier in the day. According to a media statement released by Evans personal representative, the country singer needs "to give her family her full attention at this difficult time." "Ms. Evans hopes her fans and TV viewers... will respect and understand her need for privacy in the face of these recent events,"

According to Us Weekly, the abrupt nature of Evans' Dancing with the Stars departure has saddened the rest of the show's cast. "This has really taken me by surprise," Tony Dovolani, Evans' professional partner, told People.

"It is too bad because dance has a really healing quality to it as well, and I think the family of DWTS could be a great support system for her," Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba -- who just recently went public with some relationship news of her own -- told Us. "I watch them care for each other and sometimes it is good to be around people who care about you and I think that would be good for her. But she has to take care of herself and take care of her life, and I'm sure she is making a good decision for herself. We will all support her."

What do you think about Sara Evans' decision? Talk about it on Reality TV World's Dancing with the Stars message boards.

In Dancing with the Stars' three seasons, this is the first time that a celebrity has voluntarily quit the series once the competition began. During the show's second season, teenage rapper Romeo withdrew from the completion after suffering a basketball injury only days into the show's initial training schedule. Romeo was replaced by his father, Master P.

As a result of Evans departure, only five celebrities remain in the running to be Dancing with the Stars' third season champion -- High School Musical star Monique Coleman, actor Joey Lawrence, actor Mario Lopez, retired NFL star Emmitt Smith, and former talk show host Jerry Springer. Pop singer Willa Ford was eliminated during Wednesday night's live results show.

As of late Thursday evening, ABC had not announced how the show will deal with Evans' announcement, however according to People, Evans "will make her final appearance" on next Tuesday's Dancing with the Stars broadcast.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS