She's a former Playboy Playmate and 90s MTV star, who now hosts her own SiriusXM show.
He's a lifetime member of New Kids On The Block, who's forged a successful acting career
on the likes of Blue Bloods.
But while Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg may be perfect for each other, there are some
strange things about this unruly union.
If you were trying to explain the abbreviation "PDA" and could only use photos, just about
any public appearance made by McCarthy and Wahlberg would do the trick.
Their step-and-repeat moves at the 2016 AMA's were a prime example of their uncontrollable
lust for each other, as Wahlberg practically shoved his tongue down McCarthy's throat right
on the red carpet.
Then there's McCarthy's infatuation with Wahlberg's butt.
"Ready?
It's your butt!”
She declared it her favorite body part during a "Newlywed Game" style show for Us Weekly
and made him flaunt it to Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
Aside from their relentless PDA, Wahlberg and McCarthy have made sure they can still
get it on even if they're miles away from each other.
Wahlberg revealed that he once gave McCarthy a custom-made "toy" that had his face on it,
which is something nobody ever needed to know.
McCarthy has also said that she feels like she never truly "made love" to anyone until
she met Donnie, telling Page Six,
"As you get older, you know what you like.
Then you learn what making love really is when you meet your soulmate."
One relationship revelation that came out during a Wendy Williams interview was the
fact that these lovebirds also have a bunch of ink to forever commemorate their love.
"Jenny, I wanna see your Donnie tattoo…”
“Which one.”
If you're thinking it's not that weird for lovers to get tattoos for one another, you're
right, except you'd probably be hard-pressed to find anyone who got one designed specifically
for touching their lover's face.
"When I put my hand on his face, I always wanted to see Love Donnie!”
McCarthy got "Love" tattooed on her index finger and "Donnie" tattooed on her middle
finger.
Just to amp up the ick factor, Wahlberg chimed in and said,
"She said she did it so she could see it on my face, but she was hoping it would lead
to some Amber Rose/Kanye business."
That was a reference to Rose's infamous claim about her ex, Kanye West's, preferred foreplay.
And we'll just let you Google that one for yourself.
During a typical fawning-all-over-each-other appearance on Rachel Ray, McCarthy and Wahlberg
opened up about the romantic vow renewal he planned for their three-year anniversary.
"Every single day I go thank you God for him coming into my life.”
Donnie rented a theater and staged a candlelit musical performance while a video flashback
of their relationship played before their eyes.
That all sounds super romantic until you realize that they do this every year.
McCarthy said,
"I think it's a nice commitment to each other.
With everyone so busy, and our schedules, like, we live in Illinois and New York."
Admitting that they're traveling between the two cities every week, Jenny said that it's
this type of prioritizing that keeps things strong between them.
Just to put this into perspective, other celebrity couples who also renewed their vows annually
included Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott; Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey; and Heidi Klum
and Seal.
Not the greatest track record there.
This one, amazingly, has nothing at all to do with getting it on.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, McCarthy said that when they first started
dating they quote "FaceTimed at least 17 times a day."
That, in turn, evolved into them FaceTiming every night they spent apart — and all night
long while they sleep.
McCarthy said,
"I sleep next to the phone and he sleeps and we wake up like that."
Now there's no reason they ever have to miss out on each other's…special sounds.
"Without the sound of Donnie snoring at night, I might not be able to sleep.”
another woman made a pass at her hubby.
But somehow, this isn't the case with McCarthy and Wahlberg, at least not when it comes to
his adoring fans.
Wahlberg told Entertainment Tonight,
"My wife doesn't get jealous, but she definitely notices."
…Liiiike an overzealous concertgoer feeling up his infamous rear, for example.
That kind of thing never poses a problem for MCarthy, who says,
"The man is the most wonderful, honest, loving human being ever and the way he shares love
with all his fans — how can I take that from them?"
But she quickly adds,
"I'll look at a girl and go that's enough, for sure.”
Though they've both been famous since Reebok Pumps were popular, it took decades for McCarthy
and Wahlberg to find each other.
The popular theory is that talk show host Andy Cohen set them up by scheduling them
to appear together as total strangers on Watch What Happens Live, but in reality, they met
two years earlier when McCarthy was hosting Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2010,
during which Wahlberg performed with New Kids, according to Splash.
"Nine years ago was my first time hosting New Year's Eve, and Donnie performed with
the New Kids and he said, ‘Hi Jenny McCarthy,’ I said ‘Hi Donnie,’ and that was it."
Soon after that first taping, Wahlberg appeared on McCarthy's VH1 show, where the two flirted
so openly that she later blogged,
"Let's just say we visually give 50 Shades of Grey a run for its money.
It gets steamy.
I mean like really steamy.
Being turned on by a guy is always fun but to have it legitimately happen to you on TV
is to be turned back into a 12-year-old."
McCarthy gave Wahlberg her number after they taped her show, but he played it extremely
cool before hitting her up.
McCarthy told the Scott & Todd show,
"It took two weeks for him to call me back and I thought for sure he was playing for
a different team, if you know what I'm saying."
Wahlberg then appeared on The View for McCarthy's debut show where — surprise — they made
out in front of everyone!
Co-host Barbara Walters was delighted, telling Entertainment Weekly,
"The fact that she comes on with her boyfriend [is great].
A lot of people say, 'Don't discuss my personal life.'
She comes on with him, they hug and kiss on the air!"
“For the first day of my View, I wanted to just be myself.”
Donnie's brother Mark Wahlberg and his wife, Rhea Durham, didn't attend Jenny and Donnie's
nuptials.
Part of the reason this was so juicy was because of rumors about Durham hating McCarthy.
Both couples have long denied the rift, but a year after the wedding no-show, Durham showed
a crack in the family's defensive wall when she tweeted — and quickly deleted — an
obvious dig at McCarthy.
According to the Boston Globe, Durham's zinger read:
"Don't u think after age 25 it might be strange for a woman to dye her hair pink, purple,
green or any color of that sort???
Need Attention?"
In defense of his wife whose hair was indeed pink at the time, Donnie fired back:
"Imagine the depth of pain somebody must be in, to be unkind to another human being."
Durham quickly apologized, but the burn, coupled with the wedding no-show, continued to make
tongues wag.
Donnie tried to clear the whole thing up, telling Howard Stern that he and Mark have
such crazy work schedules that they prioritize what little free time they have for family.
It turned out, Mark's daughter's birthday was the weekend of Donnie's wedding.
"Congratulations from all of us, wish we could be there.
It's Ella's birthday today, she's 11.
Say congratulations."
"Congratulations!"
Their other brother, Bobby Wahlberg, who no one on Earth has ever heard of, also did not
attend the wedding.
Moving on.
You're probably thinking a reality show starring these two has to be the most natural extension
of such a public relationship.
That's a valid point, but remember, these two also have a seemingly deep connection
buried under all that middle school PDA, and historically speaking, shoving a camera crew
into the middle of that has not worked out well.
But don't worry, because while Donnie Loves Jenny ended abruptly after three seasons — due
to McCarthy's son's desire to no longer participate — their relationship kept on going.
Life in the 'burbs
Welcome to our home.”
Married people live in the suburbs.
That's just how things work.
But most married couples aren't commuting more than 800 miles to and from work a couple
times a week, so that's pretty strange.
On an episode of Live with Kelly and Michael, Wahlberg laid out the couple's hectic schedule,
saying,
"We fly in Sunday nights; we work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then we fly out, usually
Wednesday night, but we live in the real main street USA of like, western Illinois."
The suburban celebrity couple even has a running joke about loving Applebee's that apparently
became so popular the restaurant chain even offered to host their wedding.
"I thought it was very cute that Applebee's tweeted us, so we went in on it.
We actually thought that maybe we should have them do the appetizers?"
So why are they living this part-time normal life off the grid?
"In a small town, we're like Beyonce and Jay-Z there."
Donnie elaborated in his column for Splash,
"Fame is a privilege.
It is not a right.
My dad once told me, when I was an aspiring musician as a teenager, 'Son, there's a term
for awful behavior.
It's called being an a——--.
Don't be one.'"
McCarthy and Wahlberg have been initiated into a secret club.
According to Forbes, only five percent of people will ever receive their membership
cards… which, in reality, don't exist — all you actually get are bragging rights.
So, which club is it?
It should come as no surprise that this married pair joined the mile high club.
“We joined it last week."
"We did"
In a 2017 interview with Us Weekly, McCarthy and Wahlberg admitted that they got down and
dirty on a plane just a week prior, for about the tenth time.
Picking out her wedding dress
Wahlberg and McCarthy have both been married before, so you'd think they'd be a little
more low key the second time around.
But, that was not the case.
The couple absolutely lived it up on their wedding day.
According to Us Weekly, these stars got hitched in a lavish Illinois ceremony just four months
after getting engaged in 2014.
There were thousands of flowers between the altar and the petals sprinkled down the aisle.
It was completely beautiful and more traditional than we'd expect from a former playmate and
boy bander.
McCarthy's son Evan, from her previous marriage, even ended up being the one to walk her down
the aisle.
"Who's giving this woman away.
“I am."
Still, not everything about the celeb pairing's nuptials followed standard wedding protocol.
McCarthy broke a cardinal superstition: she had Wahlberg help her pick out a dress.
According to E! News, she shopped for the traditional strapless gown with her then-fiancé
at Bergdorf Goodman.
Clearly, their love was strong enough to ward off whatever bad luck that might have conjured.
Second marriages are even more likely to end in a divorce than a first marriage.
According to The New York Times, 60 percent of second marriages fail.
However, McCarthy and Wahlberg actually believe that marriage is better the second time around.
In an interview with ET Canada, Wahlberg credited his satisfaction with the fact that the couple
constantly work on their relationship.
McCarthy had a similar perspective, saying,
"It's not like we never have problems, but we know if [we do] it's an opportunity to
look inside and say, 'Does this remind me of something from my past that I need to work
on?'"
Perhaps the biggest secret to their success is the fact that they always put their relationship
first — especially before their professional lives.
This is a feat considering the pair's busy Hollywood schedule.
McCarthy has a Sirius XM show among a number of other business ventures, like her Blondies
cocktail line.
"Oh my God, that's so good.”
Meanwhile, Wahlberg has starred on the CBS drama Blue Bloods since 2010 while juggling
tour dates with New Kids on the Block.
You know what they say though, the second time's a charm.
Well, maybe not, but it certainly is for these two.
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