By Michaela Gordoni
Donnie Wahlberg is thankful for his biggest cheerleader, his wife, Jenny McCarthy.
He recalled how after his serial BLUE BLOODS was cancelled, he tried to save the show, but his wife helped him realize the potential for a new show — what would become BOSTON BLUE.
“I remember when Jenny got the call for THE MASKED SINGER, she was like, ‘I don’t know. Is this going to work?’ and I was like, ‘That’s going to be huge!’” Wahlberg told Country Living. “She was like, ‘Really?’ and I said, ‘Yes,’ and she re-looked at it.”
“That’s how we are,” he continues. “BOSTON BLUE came along and she said, ‘You must do this.’ I was like, ‘I know, but BLUE BLOODS… I could keep [trying to save] this.’ She said, ‘You have to give it a try.’ She’s incredibly supportive.”
The couple just celebrated their 11th marriage anniversary this year.
“I don’t know if I can answer how she’s supported it as much as I can answer how much — which is a million, billion percent,” Walhberg gushed. “In every way, she’s a confidant, a cheerleader, a supporter. The way she describes it is that she will hold my kite strings and let me fly.”
“And there are times when I’m going to hold her kite strings and let her fly and when she comes down for landing, I’m right there as her support on the ground. That’s just what we do for each other.”
Related: Donnie Wahlberg Filled with ‘Same Gratitude’ as He Starts BLUE BLOODS Spinoff
To rededicate themselves to one another, the couple annually renews their vows.
“[We’ve had] 10 vow renewals. Our pastor reminisces about the year and gives us a thing to think about as the year goes on,” McCarthy said last year. “There is something nice about it.”
In 2023 McCarthy said, “Anything that you need to work on will come out in your relationship. And we were both always willing and still willing to do the work when things come up. And it really is, it makes all the difference in the world.”
Wahlberg says their journey has been “fun” as they juggle their professional careers and family life. The couple raise 3 sons from their separate relationships.
“We have a lot of fun – but we work for it. The most work we put into anything is our relationship and our family,” the actor and New Kids On The Block star said.
Wahlberg’s son, Elijah, has followed in his dad’s musical footsteps, much to Wahlberg’s delight.
“He’s drumming for a young pop artist named Aidan Bissett who’s playing in Toronto and I’m gonna go and I’m over the moon,” he said. “I can’t even wait. I’m so excited!”
“And a bunch of the cast are coming. He and Marcus Scribner [who plays Sean’s police partner Jonah Silver] have talked a bunch on the phone and they have so much in common, so it’ll be good for them meeting in person,” he said.
When Wahlberg was playing with his band in Vegas, he got to spend a lot of time with his kids.
“Jenny and I got to spend a lot of time with my boys and [my stepson], Evan, together. In between all that work and craziness, that family time was probably the most joyous and special it’s ever been,” he said.
Wahlberg balances his busy life by practicing gratitude.
“As long as I’m operating from a place of gratitude, I’ll be happy,” he said. “The minute I can’t stop and be grateful for all of this is the minute it’s not fun anymore. I’m getting to do all the things that I love to do, and it’s a lot. This year has been a lot more than any other year.”
“But I’m trying to continue doing what I always do, which is wake up in the morning and first, be grateful I woke up, and then be grateful I get to do what I love – which isn’t even so much about the acting and the performing,” he said. “It’s about connecting with people and bringing happiness to people. It’s what I’ve tried to do since I was a little boy – heal broken hearts!”
From Wahlberg’s perspective it’s the couple’s shared devotion — to their family, their work and each other — that holds everything together.
Read Next: Donnie Wahlberg Calls BLUE BLOODS Co-Star Tom Selleck ‘Dad’: ‘Become a Family’
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