Cassadee Pope not only won "The Voice," she also won back a relationship with her father during the course of the NBC show.
After being estranged from her dad for over a year, the 23-year-old singer ended up speaking with him over the phone after show producers attempted to reconnect the pair for a hometown visit episode.
"I was able to call him back finally and compose myself and we talked through everything," Cassadee told Billy Bush on Thursday's Access Hollywood Live, of how she reconnected with her father. "I had needed him to say he was sorry. Just to hear it. I was [feeling] a little neglected."
Her parents divorced years ago, and Cassadee said even if she ends up splitting from her future husband, she won't abandon her family.
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"I know that when I have a kid someday I will do whatever I can to make sure they know that I'm there," she said. "It hurt me that he just went away like that."
The singer, who hails from Florida, also held herself accountable for any role she may have had in the demise of her relationship with her dad.
"I apologized as well," she told Billy. "I said, 'I'm sorry, maybe I could've tried harder. I let my pride get in the way. Let's just put the past in the past.'"
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Adding, "It's nice to have him back."
In addition to her dad, the other main man in Cassadee's life is her boyfriend, Rian Dawson, who was in the "Voice" audience when she won (on his birthday!).
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"He was like, 'This is the best birthday present ever,'" she shared of Rian's reaction to her big win. "I was so excited."
And he wasn't the least bit upset by Cassadee's win overshadowing his birthday.
"He's not like that - he doesn't like to be in the spotlight anyway," she said. "He's a drummer. He's like, 'If I could play behind a curtain, I would.' So that's the kind of guy he is and he has just been so supportive through this whole thing."
-- Erin O'Sullivan
Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
