‘Country Ever After’ Star Criscilla Anderson Dies at 45 After Battling Colon Cancer

In her message, Anderson shared touching words for all four children, calling them her ‘whole heart.’

Coffey Anderson and Criscilla Crossland Anderson attend the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas, on May 11, 2023. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Criscilla Crossland Anderson, a dancer and former choreographer for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, has died at the age of 45 following a years-long battle with colon cancer.

The “Country Ever After” star announced her own death in a posthumous Instagram message shared on Dec. 2 by her close friend and photographer, Lindsey Villatoro.

“If you’re reading this, I’ve finally slipped into the arms of Jesus—peacefully and surrounded by love. Please don’t stay in the darkness of this moment. I fought hard, and I loved deeply. I am not gone. … I’m Home,” Anderson wrote.

The dancer had three children—Ethan, 14, Emmarie, 12, and Everleigh, 9—with country singer Coffey Anderson, whom she married in 2009. She was also a stepmother to his daughter, Savannah, 23, from a previous relationship.

In her message, Anderson shared touching words for all four children, calling them her “whole heart.”

“My babies … I am watching over you,” she wrote. “When a moment feels warm, familiar, or too beautiful to be [a] coincidence—that’s me. I’m still mothering you. I’m still yours.”

Anderson thanked her family for loving her unconditionally and urged them to take care of one another.

“My love is still wrapped around you,” she wrote.

“Be gentle with each other. Hold my children close. And remember: heaven isn’t as far away as it feels. I love you all. Always.”

Coffey Anderson, who is known for country hits such as “Mr. Red White and Blue” and “Bud Light Blue,” paid tribute to Anderson online, writing that she “defined strength and fighter like no other person on the planet.”

“We miss you already. Our hearts are shattered. Our minds are jumbled. Our lives will never be the same. The house is quieter because you’re missing. The babies are resilient and strong as ever. We did good with them,” he shared.

“So, dance your heart out on the beach in heaven. No more pain, no colostomy bag, no more neuropathy, no chemo, or radiation, and you can eat as much dessert as you want.”

Anderson was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2018 and openly detailed her cancer journey on social media. She also chronicled her health challenges in the 2020 Netflix series “Country Ever After.”

Anderson was declared cancer-free in 2021. However, the cancer returned in her lymph nodes the following year.

In September, Villatoro shared in a joint Instagram post that Anderson’s cancer had spread to her throat and her left lung. She also noted that the former choreographer and Coffey Anderson had recently divorced.

In a subsequent update, Villatoro revealed her friend’s prognosis was terminal.

“Seven years ago, she was given two years to live. Here we are, five years past that prognosis, and she’s still fighting with a grit and grace that humbles us all,” the photographer wrote in November.

“She is leaning into the unknown and trusting God’s promises with a courage that’s hard to describe. She wants to live. She wants to fight. And she’s holding tight to every prayer and every miracle still possible. We are speaking life into her, and I ask that you do nothing less.”

“Tomorrow, my friends… is a new day.”