Vanna White marries longtime love John Donaldson in a 'surprise' ceremony
Published in Entertainment News
LOS ANGELES — It seems people want to know: How old is Vanna White? Old enough to know that John Donaldson, her beau of more than a decade, was the man she wanted to marry.
The two have tied the knot in a surprise ceremony, the “Wheel of Fortune” co-host wrote on Instagram.
“Surprise! We got married!” White, 68, said in a Wednesday post. “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!”
The message came with a photo of Donaldson carrying his bride under an arched walkway, plus a few pics from along their happy courtship.
She’s known he was her forever guy for a while, it seems.
“We’ve been together 12 years, and I feel like we are married,” White told People in 2023. “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.”
Calling Donaldson “the male version” of her, she added, “We get along so well. He’s easy. He’s easy, and he lets me be me, and I let him be him.”
The two met in 2012 when a friend invited him to a barbecue she was attending, People reported. They wound up talking all night.
White has been turning letters on “Wheel of Fortune” since 1982, when she was 25. When co-host Pat Sajak retired in 2024 after more than four decades on the show, Ryan Seacrest took over co-hosting duties, despite some fans hoping White would get the job.
She was previously married to George Santo Pietro from 1990 to 2002. The two share son Nicholas “Nikko” Santo Pietro, 31, a real estate agent; and daughter Giovanna “Gigi” Santo Pietro, 28, a tattoo artist.
Donaldson, 60, was born in Santa Monica and came up through the construction ranks as a carpenter. Building on experience gained after the Northridge earthquake, he ultimately started his own company, JDC Construction and Development Group, according to its website. The company specializes in restoration and rehab of older multifamily buildings as well as building multifamily projects from the ground up.
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