After 14 years together, Wheel Of Fortune star Vanna White has quietly wed real estate developer John Donaldson, surprising fans with a sweet Instagram announcement on Wednesday.
“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! Love, Vanna and John.”
The couple first met in 2012 and for years, they didn’t see the need for a formal union. In photos shared online, White dazzles in a winter white dress with silver heels, a diamond band glittering on her left ring finger, while her dashing groom sports a classic black suit. They were also pictured lounging by a pool and posing in front of a large red heart on the beach.
Even as recently as December, White had told E! News during a Hawaii vacation that they had no immediate wedding plans. “We’re very happy. We’ve been together for a long time and we are just happy the way it is. Maybe people want to see us get married,” she said. “When you’ve been with someone for so long, you kind of feel like you’re already married. You don’t have to have that piece of paper.”
Before Donaldson, White was married to restaurateur George Santo Pietro. The pair wed in 1990 and famously announced her first pregnancy via a Wheel of Fortune puzzle in 1992, only to suffer a miscarriage a week later. They later welcomed two children: son Nicholas in 1994 and daughter Giovanna “Gigi” in 1997.
Donaldson, a Santa Monica native, started in construction as a laborer and rose to head foreman on luxury homes in the Hollywood Hills, working for stars like Richard Dreyfuss, Dan Aykroyd, and Martin Mull, before founding JDC Construction + Development Group.
White recalled meeting him at a barbecue: “I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘He’s really cute.’ We ended up talking for a long time that night. It just works. He lets me be me, I let him be him. There is no drama.”
Starting on Wheel of Fortune in 1982, White has remained a beloved presence for over four decades. She recently signed a contract extension following Pat Sajak’s exit and continues to work with Ryan Seacrest on the show’s current season. “I take one day at a time,” she said. “Something might come to me that I want to be involved in. You never know what’s around the corner.”
Fans have flooded social media with congratulations for the newlyweds, celebrating a love that has quietly endured and now officially sealed.
Source: Daily Mail
