“It’s Not ‘Marie Osmond’ That He Loves — It’s Me”: Marie On the Man She Married Twice
Here's why she says it's just as important to like your spouse as it is to love them.
Marie Osmond and her husband certainly have a unique love story. The singer and TV personality married her first husband, Stephen Craig, in 2011 — but he later became her third husband too, when they remarried two decades later following their divorce. They remain married today. Recently, Osmond shared some wise words with FIRST for Women about commitment and the idea of “liking” someone in addition to loving them. Keep reading to learn more about how she got there.
The Couple’s History
Osmond is a member of show biz family The Osmonds, but gained success as a country and pop music artist and TV host in her own right. She first married Craig in 1982; he was a basketball player at the time, while she was already a household name after starring in the ‘70s variety program Donny & Marie alongside her brother Donny Osmond. Marie was also known for the release of her song “Paper Roses” in 1973 at the tender age of thirteen.
Craig and Osmond had a son together, Stephen Jr., in 1983. But the pair called it quits in 1985. Despite their divorce, they remained in each other’s lives due to sharing a child. Osmond even remarried in 1986 to music producer Brian Blosil; the pair had two kids and adopted five more, but they separated after 21 years of marriage in 2007.
In 2009, Osmond reconnected with Craig and began dating him again. When their son Stephen Jr. made plans to wed in 2011, the proud parents felt inspired to tie the knot a second time themselves. The couple remarried just a few months before attending their son’s wedding. In a touching nod to their former nuptials, Osmond wore the exact same wedding dress she did the first time she married Craig in 1982.
Osmond is hardly the first Hollywood star to try out a marriage again. She follows in the footsteps of movie star Elizabeth Taylor, who famously had seven husbands and married actor Richard Burton two different times. Although the pair’s relationship was tumultuous, it was also legendary for its passion (and screaming matches). Osmond’s marriage, thankfully, appears to be more smooth sailing.
Their Current Status
Last year, Osmond told FIRST for Women that she and Craig think it’s important to have separate interests and activities, but still make their bond a priority. “We work hard at our relationship, but we don’t have to be together 24/7,” she said.
When asked recently about how they keep the spark alive amidst busy careers and spoiling the grandkids, Osmond pronounced Craig to be the center of her universe — and most importantly, she seems to still like him as much as she loves him. “I feel like I got a gift, in a very weird way,” she shares. “A lot of my friends are now empty-nesters like me, and they are looking at their spouses and going, ‘Do I like you?’ It’s like, ‘wait a minute… why did we get married in the first place?’ Unfortunately, you go down this life and you cross periodically and then all of a sudden you are in each other’s lives again [after the kids are gone], and it’s like you need to start dating.”
Osmond doesn’t seem to have any regrets, though. “I remarried my first husband and it’s been wonderful ever since to be with my best friend, to be with this person that loves you unconditionally,” she says. “It’s not ‘Marie Osmond’ that he loves, it’s me that he loves. And there’s a comfort in that, there’s a safety in that, there’s a lot of fun in that.”
When we’re young, the concept of “falling in love” seems terrifically adventurous. We want to be swept off our feet by the winds of ardor and romance. But later in life, you begin to learn that dependable companionship and trust are the key aspects of a more mature and lasting relationship. If you like your partner as a person, you’ll still want to be around them long after the passion fades.
“We can just sit and watch a TV show together and that’s enough,” Osmond says of her marriage to Craig. “We like being together — or I think he likes being with me. It’s not that you even get along all the time — but it’s not worth it, not getting along. Life is too short for that stuff. You just go, ‘You know what, we agree to disagree and I love you and let’s just keep going.’ Our goals are the same, we like the same things, we desire the same things in life.”
We should all be so lucky to marry our best friend not once, but twice.
Additional reporting by Deborah Evans Price.
