We’ll never get tired of hearing Donny Osmond. The iconic singer has spent nearly his entire life in show business, recording hundreds of songs and performing in some of the world’s most prestigious venues.
We’ve all heard that living in the spotlight may be perilous for certain individuals, because money and celebrity have repercussions. For some, this results in a terribly disastrous existence with no genuine chance to be themselves. That has not been the case for Donny Osmond.
Donny has been married to his beloved wife, Debbie, for almost 45 years. They met while they were adolescents, but she wasn’t in love with him at first – in fact, she was more interested in Donny’s brother! Debbie is the most important person in Donny’s life. At one point, the legendary singer said that she had saved his life. Let’s get a deeper look at their lovely love tale.
Donny Osmond wasn’t even six when he became a professional entertainer. Born on December 9, 1957, in Ogden, Utah, he and his elder brothers soared to popularity as the Osmond Brothers almost immediately. They became a frequent act on The Andy Williams Show, and the family decided to relocate to Los Angeles to offer the children the best opportunity to become stars.
Danny Osmond’s Childhood
Donny Osmond was beyond groovy in the 1970s. He began singing with his elder brothers when he was five years old. Osmond had a successful solo career a decade later. He was also a full-fledged teen idol, with his images plastered all over his young followers’ walls.
Donny Osmond has spent his entire life in the spotlight. Of course, becoming a child star was a goal shared by many youngsters throughout the world. It did, however, come at a cost.
He added that it’s difficult to maintain early success when you don’t recognize you need to “recreate yourself.” Furthermore, Osmond emphasized that the buzz becomes a reality all of a sudden, and that yes-saying folks may construct a reality around you that isn’t necessarily accurate.
However, in Donny’s situation, his family created a safe haven for him to be “just Donny.”
His faith was also important.
“Thank goodness I had a wonderful family to grow up with, a solid foundation.” But I would say that my faith, my parents, and my family are all extremely important to me. And I’ll keep saying it till the day I die. But, to avoid falling into that trap, I believe the most vital factor for survival is self-determination,” Donny Osmond told CNN.
“You’re an island no matter what,” he added. I believe that using popularity as your identity in life is quite harmful. So you must truly understand who you are on the inside, the core person, and pursue what is true rather than what is hype.”
“And it’s especially difficult when you’re caught up in all of the excitement, screaming, and so on.” They’re yelling for a picture, you know. Then you go home and put your pants on like everyone else. You eat your breakfast like everyone else. You’re exactly like everyone else.”
Donny and Debbie Osmond’s love story
Donny Osmond grew up a heartthrob, and when he was a teenager, it’s likely that hundreds of people had fallen in love with him. But for Donny, there was only one female he adored: his wife Debbie, with whom he has now been married for nearly 40 years!
So, how did the two come together? Debbie and Donny actually met when they were both adolescents. Debbie was 16 at the time, and Donny was 17. Donny referred to her as his “first true love,” but she refused to date him at first. The explanation was straightforward: she was dating his brother.
“She was the hot babe cheerleader in town, and she dated my brother Jay [Osmond] before she dated me,” Donny Osmond claimed in a 2016 Facebook post about their romance. “It took me 3 whole years to win her heart and convince her to marry me.”
Donny and Debbie started dating. He had something special planned for her 17th birthday in 1976, involving a limousine journey and a romantic meal. The musician was eager to impress his date.
“Debbie was playing hard to get, and I wanted to plan something really, really special for our first kiss,” Donny said to the Utah Valley Magazine.
Donny had organized a scavenger hunt for Debbie after they had finished their romantic meal. They eventually arrived at Utah Lake, where they experienced their first kiss.
“She returned to the limo and read that if she kissed Donny, she would receive her final clue.” Let me tell you, it was spectacular!” Donny Osmond reminisced.
Donny Osmond’s father was opposed to his son’s marriage.
On May 8, 1978, Donny was 20 and Debbie was 19, and they married at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, barely three years after meeting for the first time. While Donny and Debbie, as well as many of their friends and relatives, were overjoyed with their marriage, not everyone was.
Donny Osmond confessed to The Guardian in 2017 that his father, George, did not want his son to ever be in a relationship with a woman. It was affecting Donny’s career, he said.
“While the world knew me as a teen idol, and the Osmonds’ fame was at its height, I began secretly dating Debbie Glenn,” he said. “By the age of 19, I knew I was in love and needed to do something right for myself.” When I informed my father about it, he remarked, ‘Well, there goes your job, but this is ushering in your personal life.’”
“My father was correct about my career after I married. Debbie, on the other hand, is a joy to be around. I’d be a shambles if I hadn’t married her. Now I had someone who understood me and with whom I could share my future.”
“I learned a lot from my parents about loving your children, treating them with respect, and giving them a voice,” Donny Osmond concluded. Relationships are incredibly respectful since our faith teaches that we are bound together in eternity. Kindness and forgiveness are important to us. Debbie and I are devout but not obsessive, so we have a strong reverence for God in our family. Initially, I modeled my parenting style after my father, with whom I got quite close over the years. “I think as time passed, I relaxed as a father.”
Donny and Debbie had their first child, Donald Clark Osmond Jr., only a year after they married. They had four additional children throughout the years: Don (born in 1979), Jeremy (1981), Brandon (1985), Christopher (1990), and Joshua (1998).
“She is the glue that holds us all together”
Donny Osmond’s children may have suffered as a result of their father’s celebrity. He did, however, compliment his wonderful wife for providing his children with a normal childhood.
Donny penned a touching tribute to Debbie on Valentine’s Day 2020, calling her “the absolute love of my life.”
“I’d want to openly express my appreciation for Debbie’s essential effect on my life. She is not just the love of my life, but also my best friend and confidante. “I really don’t know how she manages to do it all between raising our five sons, running the show at home, spending time with our grandchildren, and running a business,” Donny Osmond posted on Facebook.
“Over the years, Debbie has frequently had to manage on her own while I’ve toured and performed. That’s a great responsibility to bear, and I’m glad to have a wife who is my partner in every way. He said, “She is the glue that holds us all together.”
When Donny Osmond launched his solo career in the early 1980s, following the cancellation of Donny and Marie, he struggled with mental health issues.
He felt compelled to be “even greater to be perfect,” putting on a flawless show every night. Things reached a tipping point in Minneapolis, when Donny Osmond experienced a panic attack.
He remembered lying in bed, shivering, and knowing something was wrong. His wife drove him to the hospital, and Donny almost burst into tears as he described the terrifying episode.
“I passed out. “I was scared of failing, of making a mistake,” he explained.
Debbie, according to Donny Osmond, assisted him in overcoming nervousness.
Unfortunately, his mental health issues and anxiety troubles had started much earlier, in his adolescence. The little lad was being pursued by girls everywhere he went, and the attention was becoming too much for him to bear.
In an interview with People Magazine, Donny recounted returning home from a gig in Hawaii and curling up into a ball.
“When my brother Jay came in, he asked, ‘Donny, what’s wrong?’” “‘I’m lonely,’ I said.” Donnie Osmond stated. “‘You just had hundreds of girls yelling your name,’ he replied. ‘What makes you so lonely?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I said. “All I need is someone.”
Donny fell in love with Debbie not long after. But he knew it would alter everything – and that his career would be “over” if the connection was made public. Of course, it did not occur. As previously said, his anxiety issues dogged him for many years.
Donny never imagined he’d be able to portray Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Debbie came to his rescue in the end.
“It’s like you’re standing in the middle of an intersection, and here comes a massive semi right at you at 90 miles per hour, and you can’t do anything about it,” Osmond said to People Magazine of his nervousness. “I’d walk onto the stage knowing I was going to die.” It was dreadful.”
Debbie assisted Donny Osmond during “the dark years” of his career:
“Debbie said, ‘Why don’t you go out there tonight and do an average show?’” It turned out to be the finest concert I’d ever done because I gave myself permission to make a mistake.”
Donny continued on the show for nearly six years, performing roughly 2000 times in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
“It laid the groundwork for me to be a multifaceted entertainer,” Osmond continued.
Osmond talked about how his wife supported him through “the dark years” of his career on The Drew Barrymore Show.
“I was in such a desperate place that Debbie pulled me out of it,” Donny Osmon recounted. “Whenever I make a decision in my life, the first thing that comes to mind is her.” What effect does it have on her? The second thing I consider is how it will effect my children. The final question is how it will effect my grandkids. Then I’ll be fourth. If all four of those are green lights, I’ll go ahead and do it. That she comes first, I believe, has really improved this 43-year marriage. But I enjoy what I do.”
Donny Osmond and his wife, Debbie, make an amazing couple. We wish them the best of luck in the future!
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