For decades, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider was a fixture in the spotlight, known for his wild hair, loud music, and bold stage presence. But at 70 years old, the heavy metal legend has traded the Hollywood hustle for something far more meaningful: peace, family, and the open roads of North Carolina.
Snider and his wife Suzette moved their entire family out of Los Angeles and settled in rural North Carolina, seeking what he calls “a life we never had.”
“We moved out to LA 10 years ago, the whole family,” Snider said in a recent interview with WFMY News. “A couple of years ago, everybody was sitting around saying, you know, it’s time to get back to a calmer life — not ‘back to’ — to a life we never had.”
After crisscrossing the country and narrowing down options from coast to coast, the Sniders landed on North Carolina as their top choice. “We literally looked from the West Coast to the East Coast and slowly started dialing in,” he explained. “And North Carolina took the number one spot ... You've got to come for the state.”
Their decision was solidified not just by the scenery but by the people. “We traveled all the way to the shoreline. And people were amazing, and that's ultimately what it came down to,” Snider said. “They were welcoming and lovely, and we said this is where we want to live.”
Today, Dee and Suzette — who have been married for 43 years — are surrounded by their four grown children and six grandchildren. “We’re all here, by the way — my four grown kids, six grandkids, we all live in North Carolina. This is our home,” he shared.
The couple’s love story has rock-and-roll roots. They met when Suzette snuck into a bar using a fake ID. “She turned up to our show on her cousin’s ID and thought she was seeing a girl band,” Snider once told The Sydney Morning Herald. “I saw her and flipped. She was this hot Italian beauty. I told her I’d be famous one day. We’ve been together ever since.”
Snider credits the rural lifestyle for giving him something city life couldn’t — space to breathe and freedom to ride. “I like cars. The roads here are great. I’m also a motorcycle rider,” he said. “So, I mean, in LA or New York, where I’m from originally, it’s just defensive riding — ‘don’t hit me!’ But here, you can get up, and you can just get out on the open roads and just really enjoy the beauty of the state.”
Even his spills on the local bike trails can’t dampen his enthusiasm. “You notice I’m limping — it’s because I was bike trail riding and the trail won the other day. I took a spill. Sometimes the trail wins,” he laughed.
For Snider, the move wasn’t just a change in scenery — it was a reconnection with what matters most. In a world that often prizes fame and flash, he and his family have found contentment in simplicity, family ties, and the slower rhythms of small-town life.
