Donnie Wahlberg & Jenny McCarthy connected Their "Weird But True Love"

Jenny McCarthy wasn't definite a large emotion was successful the cards for her.

"Especially being a azygous mom, successful the past," not uncovering the close idiosyncratic "was 1 of my biggest fears," she shared with E! News in 2018, "and I didn't cognize if it was going to beryllium retired determination for me." 

And Donnie Wahlberg, a divorced dada of 2 sons, wasn't looking for thing special—but past McCarthy walked into his beingness successful 2013. Or, much accurately, helium walked into hers arsenic a impermanent connected the VH1 speech amusement she had astatine the time.

On Nov. 1, McCarthy is celebrating her 50th day with the emotion of her beingness by her side.

Earlier this week, Wahlberg posted the viral Halloween costume meme that's going around, featuring him and his woman of present 8 years arsenic "Hot Couple," made of "100% Hotness." 

"Let's conscionable accidental we visually give 50 Shades of Grey a tally for its money," McCarthy promised viewers successful a blog station she wrote teasing Wahlberg arsenic her speech amusement impermanent successful March 2013. "It gets steamy. I mean similar truly steamy. Being turned connected by a feline is ever amusive but to person it legitimately hap to you connected TV is to beryllium turned backmost into a 12-year-old. By the clip we get into the groundbreaking interview, my look turns 50 shades of RED."

They had crossed paths erstwhile before, successful 2012, erstwhile they were some guests on Watch What Happens Live, but connected that amusement they had Andy Cohen as a chaperone.

The topics covered connected McCarthy's amusement included Justin Bieber (the scandalous celeb of the day), Wahlberg's early New Kids connected the Block days, soiled speech ("Some guys bash it wrong," McCarthy said; "I don't bash it wrong," helium fired back) and Wahlberg's virginity (which helium admitted to losing successful a heap of snow, to his brother's girlfriend). The brace ended up snuggling connected the level sucking connected lollipops, the impermanent nibbling connected his host's ear. 

Still, contempt the instant chemistry, it took 2 full weeks for Wahlberg to inquire her out. And yes, McCarthy was counting.

McCarthy was joined to John Asher, the begetter of her present 20-year-old son, Evan, for astir six years earlier they divorced successful 2005. She went connected to person a agelong narration with Jim Carrey and past dated fittingness exemplary Jason Toohey and shot subordinate Brian Urlacher for a fewer months each. 

"It took awhile," she recalled to Parade magazine successful April 2012 astir getting implicit her 2010 breakup with Carrey aft astir 5 years together. "I felt like, 'Oh, I'm truthful unsocial I person to beryllium with somebody.' But I got to a spot wherever I was like, 'I'm blessed with myself. I don't request to person a person to person emotion successful my life.'"

But McCarthy knew erstwhile she was acceptable to settee down again.

"I wanted to find the one," she aboriginal said on The Howard Stern Show. "I didn't attraction what bundle it came in, I conscionable wanted to find it." And erstwhile she did (and Wahlberg called) that was it, though they "took it slow" astatine first.

"It took 2 weeks for him to telephone maine back, and I thought for definite helium was playing for a antithetic team, if you cognize what I'm saying," McCarthy cracked connected PLJ-FM. "That's of people my ego, a girl's ego: 'He indispensable beryllium married, he's gay, what's wrong?'"

While their giddy PDA moments had immoderate skeptics wondering whether they mightiness beryllium pouring it connected for show, Wahlberg popped the question successful April 2014, a small much than a twelvemonth aft they archetypal met. He projected with a yellowish sapphire successful manus and a small assistance from the different astir important feline successful McCarthy's life, lad Evan.

"This play I was sitting with Donnie and helium went into the different country and retired came Evan with a paper that said 'Will.' And helium ran distant and came backmost with a paper that said 'You,' and I knew what was happening and I conscionable started crying," McCarthy relayed the communicative on The View. "And past helium came retired with a paper that said 'Marry,' but it was spelled 'Mary,' and the past clip Donnie came retired with Evan and Evan's garment said 'Me?' and helium was holding the ring. He asked, 'Will you wed me?' I of people said yes.

"And successful that moment, Evan yelled, 'I person different dad! I person different dad.' And it was just—it made each of america cry," she said, tearing up. "I consciousness similar the luckiest miss successful the world. He's truthful wonderful."

"It's inactive precise caller and shocking and breathtaking and I consciousness truly lucky. I consciousness conscionable blessed," McCarthy, inactive not wholly utilized to saying "fiancé" alternatively of "boyfriend," gushed to E! News that May. 

They didn't fuss with a agelong engagement, marrying each other Aug. 31, 2014, astatine the Hotel Baker successful St. Charles, show of their authoritative debut successful 2013. Apparently not the superstitious sort, McCarthy wore a formal she picked retired during a buying excursion with Wahlberg to Bergdorf Goodman's bridal conception successful New York.

"Donnie helped [Evan] get dressed, and past helium met maine and said, 'You ready?'" McCarthy recalled to People. "He enactment retired his small arm, and we walked down the aisle, and the officiator said, 'Who's giving distant this girl?' And helium raised his arm, 'I am.'"

And arsenic if the nighttime couldn't beryllium much of a happy-tear-jerker, Evan besides spoke astatine the reception. "He grabbed the microphone and said, 'Can I accidental a fewer words?'" McCarthy shared. "He was like, 'I emotion my stepdad, I'm truthful gladsome for my mom, we're going to marque a large family.' And it was truly beautiful."

McCarthy besides had a fewer things to accidental to their assembled guests, which included Sherri Shepherd and the different members of NKOTB.

"As a small girl, you imagination of Prince Charming, and you ever get disappointed due to the fact that nary 1 meets the expectations," the bride said, toasting her caller husband, "but helium has surpassed it by far. He has been truthful benignant and open."

The newlyweds honeymooned astatine the cozy Glenmere Mansion successful New York's Hudson Valley, lounging by the excavation and treating themselves to spa treatments for two.

They sealed their archetypal New Year's Eve arsenic hubby and woman with a kiss, astir a period aft announcing they'd beryllium taking their narration to world TV with A&E's Donnie Loves Jenny, which kicked disconnected successful January 2015 with a wedding occurrence and lasted 3 seasons.

Talking about however their combined 3 boys were getting along, McCarthy told E! News that they had needed to "take babe steps successful immoderate areas," but wide she and Wahlberg could spot "how each kid is simply a blessing for each other. Like Evan is truthful influenced by Elijah, and however overmuch Elijah means to maine successful my beingness that I didn't needfully get from anyone before."

While letting the cameras successful did not curse their marriage, as it seemingly cursed truthful galore different couples, it did trigger a parade of headlines, galore conscionable inspired by silly arguments from the show.

"The s--t that comes retired successful the press, you can't accidental anything, it's a f--king satellite story…I marvel astatine the worldly that becomes information successful headlines," Wahlberg said on The Howard Stern Show in March 2015. 

Meanwhile, helium had gone into the edifice concern with his brothers Paul and Mark Wahlberg, starting successful their autochthonal Massachusetts, and their adventures became fodder for the Emmy-nominated Wahlburgers, which lasted for 10 seasons connected A&E. Not to mention, determination are now 49 Wahlburgers successful the U.S., Canada, Germany and Australia. 

And portion Wahlberg's ace that the longest magnitude of time he and McCarthy ever spent isolated was 7 hours was a joke, it didn't dependable excessively acold disconnected from the reality.

"Because of enactment we've had to beryllium apart, but successful the house, if helium goes to the bathroom, I'm similar a canine oregon a toddler. I volition travel him to the door, waiting for him to travel out," McCarthy besides told Howard Stern in March 2015. 

The FaceTiming comes in, er, useful erstwhile they're engaged with work—which for McCarthy includes her SiriusXM amusement and her Blondies enactment of cocktails, and for Wahlberg includes touring with NKOTB and shooting Blue Bloods, which is successful its 13th season. 

But they carve retired arsenic overmuch clip arsenic imaginable for togetherness, whether it's astatine an lawsuit oregon cuddled up astatine home. They've bonded implicit the elemental things successful life, similar watching The Bachelor ("Donnie cries! It's episode three and he's crying and I'm like, 'Donnie! you can't beryllium crying already!'" McCarthy told Us Weekly in 2019) and each the Real Housewives franchises ("I'll ticker virtually each azygous mentation of Real Housewives with her, but the trade-off is I get her to ticker my sports stuff," Wahlberg, of people a die-hard instrumentality of thing Boston, confided to People successful 2017). 

"We don't truly fight, we conscionable get quiescent and spell to our neutral corners," helium admitted on Watch What Happens Live! in October 2017 erstwhile a caller asked what their biggest-ever statement was about. And, interestingly, "We person a rule—no constitution sex."

"It's precise blistery and sexy—and it drains your brain!" McCarthy added. They don't truly person a regularisation astir not going to furniture mad, but alternatively they effort not to escalate a disagreement. "We telephone it 'hold the light,'" Wahlberg revealed. "So if 1 of america is successful a atrocious mode we kinda number connected the different 1 to clasp the light. So if I'm successful a atrocious temper oregon she's successful a atrocious mood, it's like, 'don't engage.'" McCarthy continued, "Defense is the archetypal enactment of war, we archer ourselves." Instead, she'll inquire him what the upsetting thought is reminding him of. "It's a existent therapeutic mode to recognize what's going connected present that we've brought successful from the past," she said.

Asked if reminders of past beingness experiences—i.e. a Jim Carrey movie connected TV—ever caused tension, they seemed to person risen supra specified things.

And arsenic the months and years went by, the basal of their connection—commitment to religion and family, and affirmative thinking—only beceme much apparent, successful summation to each that still-hot-for-each-other stuff.

Opening up to E! News in 2017 astir a verbally abusive narration that ensnared her for 4 years, McCarthy revealed how she yet broke escaped and started looking retired for herself.

"The way to loving yourself requires you to halt putting the blasted connected others and observe the choices you marque that got you there. It wasn't his occupation to emotion me. It was mine," she explained. "So I chose to yet get the hellhole retired of that relationship. I chose to beryllium almighty not powerless."

"I got to a spot successful my beingness wherever I learned that I deserved emotion fixed the close way, the steadfast way, and I wasn't going to settee anymore until I got 'The One,'" McCarthy continued. "And I virtually said that retired loud. I said, 'God, I'm not helping. I don't privation to beryllium a teacher to immoderate much guys. I privation to conscionable love. I privation idiosyncratic that reflects the emotion that I person wrong of me.' That's it. A reflection of wherever I'm at, due to the fact that I felt similar I was astatine a truly large spot and wrong astir apt a month, I met Donnie.

"We quickly, rapidly knew connected a deeper level that this was thing precise peculiar and thing that we didn't privation to screw up. So we made definite that we did things the close way."

McCarthy told Drew Barrymore last twelvemonth that she brought Wahlberg to therapy with her early connected truthful that they would, indeed, bash things the close way.

"I'm going to inquire him, earlier we adjacent person our archetypal fight, if we tin spell to therapy together," she explained. "He mightiness deliberation I'm crazy, but I privation to beryllium capable to fig retired immoderate tools and observe however we some fight. Do some of america unopen down if we're huffy astatine each other, oregon does 1 request to communicate?'"