Donny Osmond Admitted He Was 'Tempted All the Time' to Cheat On His Wife of 43 Years

Donny Osmond is a former teen idol. His fame came at a hefty price as he became a victim of bullying, and the media hated him just for being a good guy.

Donny Osmond has been in the entertainment industry for five decades, but despite all his success in showbiz, the journey has not been without challenges. He told The Mirror in June 2016:

“I was 14 or 15, doing my gig. I’m one of the biggest teeny boppers in the world, and Rolling Stone magazine comes out with an article which says, ‘the worst day in rock ‘n roll history was the day Donny Osmond was born.’”

MOCKED FOR HAVING A CLEAN IMAGE

"A teenager is just trying to figure out who he is, let alone having that. That's the ultimate bullying. It hurt me," Donny continued to explain.

The child prodigy stole many hearts as a member of the family band The Osmonds singing alongside his four brothers and went on to become a solo star, releasing hit songs like "Puppy Love."

But he got mocked after forging a solo career, and when it hit rock bottom when he was in his twenties, his fans all grown up, he found himself in the wilderness.

In addition to being scorned, young Donny was ridiculed for having a clean reputation as he did not smoke, drink, or do drugs. He shared:

“I’ve been made fun of my entire life about things like family, my health code, and moral code. And it’s like ‘In your face everybody, I’m the last one laughing. I’m the last one standing.’”

THE TEMPTATIONS OF FAME

In September 2019, the world-famous singer revealed his squeaky-clean image almost ruined his career. It became a hindrance in a way that it closed certain doors on him. As a result, he contemplated a plan to fake a bad boy image:

“I had a whole plan ready to be executed by my former public relations manager that I was going to get busted for drugs coming in from an international destination."

"The marketing mind in me said, 'This will work.' But then the reasonable mind in me said, 'It's going to destroy you,'" Donny added.

The 64-year-old shared his former publicist was the one who suggested that he fake a drug scandal because it would have made him cool. Donny admitted during a CBS interview that it would have earned him street cred for a short while, but then he would become a laughingstock:

“I’m so glad I didn’t do it.”

SECRETLY DATED WIFE FOR SAFETY

Today, the game show host is a family man married to his longtime love, Debbie Osmond, 62. The couple went through a rollercoaster ride because of his popularity back in the day.

When they started dating, Donny kept their romance a secret and shared he did not want the teenage gossip magazines to find out. In an interview on the "Drew Barrymore Show," the actor revealed:

“I dated her secretly for three and a half years because I didn’t want Tiger Beat magazine to find out.”

CRUEL TREATMENT FROM FANS

Eventually, news of their relationship broke out in the mid-1970s, and he revealed that his wife received threatening letters from adoring fans:

“She’s this sweet little girl from Montana. She's the most amazing woman and saved my life. Debbie is an amazing person to be with. If I hadn’t married her, I’d have been a mess.”

During the interview, the "Dancing with the Stars" champion shared some of the darkest times in his Hollywood career concerning his rise to stardom.

He and Debbie walked down the aisle in May 1978, but they only had their wedding reception later because the "Young Love" singer was set to open at the Hilton.

They only managed to keep their nuptials under wraps, but when it became public knowledge that they were husband and wife, things got out of control.

While the show in Las Vegas had been sold out, fans showed disapproval of their marriage by boycotting the event, and some predicted that it would only last for six months:

"Some nights, the room was only half-full and that hurt. Later I heard that some fans held parties where they burned records and pictures of me.”

Soon enough, the media took a jab at the newly wedded couple as Debbie came across an article that said their union would never last because she had married for money.

Donny shared his wife was gutted by those claims and that tears rolled down her cheeks as she asked how they could be so cruel while stating the accusations were invalid.

The star admitted that he knew something like that was inevitable and knew he stood no chance at preventing it from happening. He told Debbie that she should grow a thick skin:

“You know why you married me, and you know what our relationship is about. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says.”

BOMBARDED WITH AFFAIR ACCUSATIONS

In 1991, just after enduring the heartache, tabloid reporters rang their doorbell in Utah and asked Debbie whether it was true that her husband was having an affair with actress Crystal Bernard, who was just a friend. She daringly faced them down and said:

"No, it's not true. And will you please leave?"

Despite being a Hollywood sensation, Donny never crossed the line and has remained steadfast in his beliefs and moral code after 50 years on stage. He possesses traditional values and avoids substance abuse and other things such as extramarital affairs.

DONNY'S TEMPTATIONS WITH FEMALES

However, that does not mean that he was never tempted. During his 43-year marriage to "The Fir Tree" actress, Donny revealed that he was previously tempted to cheat on Debbie.

Yet he insisted that he always turned down fans out of respect for her while vowing that he would never do anything to hurt the mother of his kids:

"I’m tempted all the time. I mean, I work five nights a week in Las Vegas. Hello? They call it Sin City for a reason. So, I'm tempted, but I don't cross that line."

During an appearance on "Piers Morgan's Life Stories" in 2012, the television host recalled an incident in Ireland when he got off the stage and undressed. Then, he suddenly heard a noise coming from the bathroom and found two girls in his shower. Donny said to them:

"Okay, ladies, it's time to leave."

Jokingly, Morgan asked how long it took for him to say that to them, and right before they both laughed it off, Donny told him it took four hours. When asked if they were apologetic about it, he shared they were heavily drunk.

After all the hate he received and getting tempted by fans along the way, Donny has the last laugh as an accomplished legendary star who maintains good credibility.

Mainly because a lot is at stake, and he would have lost everything, including his wife, their five kids, Jeremy, Donald, Joshua, Christopher, and Brandon, lastly, his grandchildren. He admitted they would lose respect for him.