It’s hard to imagine Charlotte radio without the booming, familiar presence of David "Ace" Cannon. For over 25 years, he was the guy who woke us up, the voice in the car during that brutal morning commute. But by late 2024, the laughter on The Ace & TJ Show felt a little different. Then, suddenly, he was gone. No long goodbye. No "best of" retirement tour. Just an abrupt exit and a series of cryptic updates that left fans scrambling for answers.
When the news finally broke about the David Ace Cannon divorce, it wasn't just a tabloid headline for the people in the Carolinas. It felt personal. We’d followed his life for decades—through the high of his career and the unimaginable low of losing his daughter, Payton, in 2020.
Honestly, the timeline of the divorce and his departure from the show is messy. It's a tangle of personal struggle, legal rumors, and a man clearly trying to keep his head above water while everything he built seemed to be shrinking in the rearview mirror.
The Breakup That Changed the Airwaves
The split didn't happen in a vacuum. In October 2024, Ace finally resurfaced on Instagram. He looked different—tired, maybe a bit humbled. He didn’t dive into the nitty-gritty of why he was no longer on the show he helped build for 26 years, but he did drop the bombshell: he was separated and going through a divorce with his second wife, Amanda.
"Sadly, I am separated right now," he told the camera. He talked about "working on himself" and trying to be a better father.
But why did the David Ace Cannon divorce coincide so perfectly with him being scrubbed from the show?
The industry talk was brutal. While the official line from show management was that there was no "drama" with TJ or the staff, the reality felt more complicated. You don't just rename a legendary show The TJ & Riggins Show overnight because someone wants a sabbatical. There were whispers—unconfirmed by police records but rampant in radio circles—of a domestic incident that served as the breaking point.
A Mountain of Unprocessed Grief
You can’t talk about Ace’s marriage ending without talking about 2020. That was the year his 21-year-old daughter, Payton, was killed in a car accident.
Grief like that changes a person's DNA. Ace was open about how much he struggled. He later admitted that he never really took the time to heal. Instead, he jumped into a new chapter: a wedding with Amanda and the birth of their son, Dax. On the surface, it looked like a "second chance" at life. But beneath the "Live from the Living Room" podcasts and the smiling photos, things were fracturing.
People close to the situation suggested that the joy of a new marriage and a new baby acted more like a distraction than a cure. When the distraction wore off, the demons were still there. Ace himself alluded to this, mentioning that he was trying to "create a better space" for his future and finally address the things he’d ignored.
What the Fans Noticed
- The Social Media Silence: Amanda's Instagram accounts were deactivated shortly after the news of Ace’s passing in February 2025.
- The Show Rebrand: The speed at which The Ace & TJ Show moved on was jarring to long-time listeners.
- The Emotional Video: Ace’s October 2024 update was the first time many fans realized how dire his personal situation had become.
The Financial and Legal Reality
Divorce is expensive. For a public figure who just lost his primary source of income, it’s a nightmare. Reports surfaced that Ace was dealing with significant financial pressure alongside the custody battle for his youngest son.
It's a heavy burden. Imagine losing your job, your marriage, and partial access to your child all within a matter of months, all while the public is dissecting your every move on Reddit. Some fans pointed out that Amanda appeared to be moving on quickly on social media, which only fueled the fire.
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But we have to remember: we only saw what was posted. The reality of a David Ace Cannon divorce involves two people who were once in love and a young child who now has to grow up without a father following Ace's tragic passing in February 2025.
Understanding the Impact
The story of the David Ace Cannon divorce is a cautionary tale about the importance of mental health and the danger of "powering through" trauma. Ace spent his life making other people smile, but it seems he couldn't find a way to do the same for himself when the cameras were off.
If there's anything to take away from this tragedy, it's that even the people who seem to have the "perfect" life are often battling things we can't see.
Steps for navigating similar personal crises:
- Prioritize Professional Help: If you’re dealing with profound loss, like the death of a child, "distraction" isn't a long-term strategy. Seek grief counseling immediately.
- Separate Public and Private Personas: For those in the public eye, the pressure to maintain an image can prevent real healing. It's okay to step back before you're forced to.
- Audit Your Support System: In Ace's case, the "radio family" was his backbone. When that was severed, the isolation became dangerous. Ensure your support system exists outside of your workplace.
- Legal Protection: If you're entering a divorce during a career transition, consult with a financial planner early to understand how your assets and alimony might be impacted by a change in income.
The legacy of David "Ace" Cannon will always be the laughter he brought to the Carolinas. But the end of his marriage and his untimely death serve as a stark reminder that the "man behind the mic" was just as human, and just as vulnerable, as the rest of us.