The longtime Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White shocked her fans on Wednesday by revealing that she’s married her longtime partner John Donaldson in a surprise wedding.
White’s Surprise Wedding
White, 68, announced her marriage in an Instagram post.
“Surprise! We got married!,” White wrote. “John and I have been in love for more than a decade and a little while back, we wanted to make it official in a private ceremony.”
“We’re excited to share this new joyful chapter in our lives with all of you!” she continued. She signed the post, “Love, Vanna and John.”
White And Donaldson’s History
White was first introduced to Donaldson, who is a real estate developer, through a mutual friend back in 2012. The friend reportedly brought Donaldson to a barbecue that White was hosting.
White told People Magazine that she was smitten with Donaldson as soon as she saw him.
“I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘He’s really cute,'” she recalled. “We ended up talking for a long time that night.”
“It just works,” she added at the time when asked about their relationship. “He lets me be me, I let him be him … There is no drama in our relationship.”
Why White Didn’t Marry Donaldson Sooner
In an October of 2023 interview, White later revealed why she and Donaldson hadn’t married yet.
“I mean, we’ve been together 12 years, and I feel like we are married,” she said at the time. “Do we have to get married? No, because we feel comfortable in our relationship. You know what I mean? I know that he’s the one. He knows I’m the one.”
White went on to claim that she and Donaldson hadn’t even discussed the idea of getting married.
“We don’t really talk about it, but you never know,” she confessed. “I mean, I guess we could, but in my eyes and his eyes, we are married.”
White then said that their relationship works because Donaldson is “the male version” of her.
“We really are very similar,” she explained.
This is the second marriage for both White and Donaldson. White was previously married to restaurateur George Santo Pietro from 1990 until they divorced in 2002. Indeed, he is the father of her two children Nicholas “Nikko” Santo Pietro, 31, and Giovanna “Gigi” Santo Pietro, 28.
Meanwhile, as for Donaldson, he owns a construction and development company in California. Though it’s known he was previously married and divorce, the specifics of that haven’t been reported in the press.
White And Wheel Of Fortune
White has been co-hosting Wheel of Fortune since 1982. She co-hosted the beloved game show with the legendary Pat Sajak, 79, for 42 years until he retired from the program in 2024. These days, White is co-hosting Wheel of Fortune with Ryan Seacrest, 51.
Last month, White admitted that she almost retired from Wheel of Fortune when Sajak left.
“When Pat decided he was going to retire, I had to make a decision,” White told E! News. “Working with someone for that long, I feel like I should maybe go with him.”
However, White ultimately decided that she wasn’t done yet.
“I thought hard and thought, ‘You know what? I’m just not ready to retire yet. I’m having fun. I feel good. I feel healthy,'” she said. “So, at this point, it’s one year at a time. … I don’t think there’s anything else on TV I would rather do after being on Wheel for so long. Honestly, I think I wanna just play golf when I retire.”
“You never know what tomorrow holds,” White concluded. “At this point, I’m happy with my job, I’m continuing on Wheel, and we will take one year at a time and go from there. You never know what’s around the corner. You just don’t. Something might come to me that I want to be involved in. I just take one day at a time.”
Given the fact that White’s wedding was a surprise, once certainly never does know what tomorrow holds!
White has been one of the most beloved television personalities in America for decades. We’d like to wish her a heartfelt congratulations about getting married. Here’s hoping that White and Donaldson have many years of happiness together to come!