Daniel Eichholz Shares How Dark Times Brought His Family Closer Together
"There wasn’t an option to let this overcome us," the #SouthernCharmSAV gent said.
It's always a blast when Daniel Eichholz is around on Southern Charm Savannah. However, this fun-loving gent's life hasn't always been a party.
Daniel opened up about when his family fell on hard times earlier this season. His father, Benjamin Eichholz, was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2010 after pleading guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into his mishandling of pension and retirement accounts in his law firm.
Daniel recently told The Daily Dish that he had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy to discuss his family's past on Southern Charm Savannah, but he knew that it would be the best decision. "Well, it’s definitely difficult to make this decision to be super open and transparent about what’s going on, but I think once you realize that you have to be open and honest with yourself about everything, and — because that’s the best way and that’s the way that you’re gonna achieve happiness and [be] at peace with everything — I think that it became pretty easy just to be real and honest. And I’m a pretty open and honest guy," he explained. "Like, I’m not perfect, I don’t think the person asking me the questions is perfect. I think we all have our ups and downs. And so I think just being open all the way with everything seems to make you happier in the end."
Though that was understandably a trying time for the Eichholzes, Daniel said that something good ultimately came out of the experience. "What happened to my father and my family brought my family closer together," Daniel shared. "And it really made me who I am today. I had to grow up overnight. And I think that was really great. And I actually appreciated it. I’m very happy that it has molded me and my brother both into who we are."
Daniel said that "perseverance" and "persistence" helped him get through this difficult time. "There wasn’t an option to fail. There wasn’t an option to let this overcome us," he said. "It was just, stay focused on the mission at hand, and just do what you gotta do, just very hard work. I mean, that really is the answer."
Daniel was graduating college in Colorado and was planning on working for a financial software company in Florida at the time of his father's legal troubles. He decided to go home to Savannah to run the family law firm and help get his family back on its feet. "Well, I feel like my family needed me," Daniel said. "And I felt like it was the right thing to do. So I went home and took care of business."
As the Savannah Charmer continues to run the family law firm today, he said he's still in the process of figuring out what's next for him and his career. "I definitely have spent so much time in the law firm, it’s going to be very hard to actually walk away," he told The Daily Dish. "So I think that a part of me is gonna want to control and keep working at the firm, but I just want to do something that’s helping people, in general. So I’m not quite sure what that is, and I think that it’s more, really, about the road ahead than the actual end goal, because, once you get there, you’re there."
Daniel said that he imagines that philanthropy of some kind will always be in his life, whether it's a part of his career or a passion in his free time. "I really like helping people. It makes me feel very good, and I’m passionate about that. So I’m sure that throughout my life and my journey, I’m gonna be focused on something about, it’s gonna be all about giving back," he said. "I’m not quite sure what that is exactly, but I do think that that’s going to be a core value in my future."
Daniel previously shared a major update about his love life with The Daily Dish. Get the scoop, below.
