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Marie Osmond Tough Times
Tested by divorce, her father’s death and her son’s stay in rehab, the Dancing with the Stars contestant finds strength in faith and family
Hoofing her way through the mambo and the quickstep on Dancing with the Stars Nov. 19, Marie Osmond showcased the sequined razzle-dazzle fans had come to expect from her all season long. “She’s always going to give it her best shot,” says her longtime friend, Lisa Hatch, “because that’s all Osmonds know how to do.”
Raised in a family sworn to the credo The Show Must Go On, Marie, 48, has kept her signature smile in place through an increasingly difficult year. In March, before she took on Dancing with the Stars, she announced she and her husband of 20 years, Brian Blosil, were divorcing. On Oct. 22, she fainted on the show after a samba. Two weeks later, her father, George, died at age 90. And then came yet another blow: In response to questioning from Larry King Nov. 14, she said that her son Michael, 16one of her eight children, who range in age from 5 to 25has been undergoing rehab. (Hatch says he is being treated for a substance abuse problem.) “When it hits the fan,” says her brother Donny of Marie’s ordeal, “it hits it.”
Especially difficult have been Michael’s troubles, which Donny says are not new. “They have been an ongoing problem. Marie has been dealing with this for a very long time. Unfortunately, he got into the wrong crowd.” Hatch describes Michaelone of five children Marie adopted with Blosil (she also has three biological children)as “a very quiet kid” who played drums on his mom’s Christmas concert tour last year. “When her kids are hurting,” says Hatch, “there’s nobody that hurts more than her.”
It’s not the first time her kids have made headlines: In 2006, daughters Jessica, then 21, and Rachael, then 16, posted risqu� MySpace profiles that prompted a statement from Marie saying she was “saddened” by the choices her girls had made. Donny acknowledges that the pressures of living up to the squeaky-clean Osmond name can be difficult. “Yes, Marie has made mistakes [as a parent]. We all do,” he says. “We were given great parents. Marie was implementing those [lessons] the best way she could.”
One of nine Utah-bred Osmond siblings, Marie began performing with her brothers at age 3. She has been outspoken about the trials of her life in the spotlight. In her 2001 memoir Behind the Smile, she detailed her battle with postpartum depression following the birth of her son Matthew; she also revealed that she had been sexually abused as a child. (She did not identify her abusers but said they were not family members.)
Her love life, too, has had its share of ups and downs: divorced from first husband Stephen Craig in 1985, she married music producer Blosil, 55, the following year. The pair briefly separated in 2000 only to call it quits for good this March. “It was very difficult for Marie to come to the decision to move on,” says Hatch, “because she is someone who believes in family.”
It is her family, along with her strong Mormon faith, that helps Osmond through the tough times. In her unassuming home on a quiet street in Orem, Utah, “she’s just a typical momworking in the garden, baking treats for her kids and their friends,” says a neighbor. “She has a big heart.” During her Dancing run, the kids have largely been in Blosil’s care at home in Utah while Osmond works in L.A. “She is conflicted, because she is a working mom and it’s difficult to balance that,” says Hatch, who also runs Marie’s $100 million-plus doll line for QVC. And yet her children “are really proud of her. She’s teaching them some great life skills. Yeah, life throws you some curves, but you don’t lay down and die. You pick yourself up and keep going.”
QUOTE
“Her father always taught them: Hoe to the end of the row. Keep going” FRIEND LISA HATCH
MARIE’S DIFFICULT YEAR
MARCH Marie split from husband Brian Blosil (with her in ‘97). Since then, “She’s said there is more peace in the home,” says Donny. “He is there for the kids as well.”
OCTOBER Osmond who has shed 30 lbs. during her DWTS run thanks to the show and NutriSystem shocked audiences when she fainted on live TV. She said she was winded and recovered with a curtsy.
NOVEMBER She flew to Provo, Utah, for her father’s funeral the day after appearing on Oprah to mark the family’s 50 years in showbiz. Returning to the ballroom the next week, “It was our father’s spirit within her,” says Donny. “She did it.”
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If Marie ever comes to Tucson, I’m hopeful that she will visit the following program in session. This program is unique and effective in the fight against Coronary Artery Disease.
The Foundation for Cardiovascular Health is a 501(c)3 nonprofit Community Foundation. The program offers the Heart Disease Reversal Program, which states that Coronary Artery Can Be Reversed. The program is offered in the Spring and the Fall. It is a medically directed, 12-week interactive, comprehensive program created in 1993, by Charles Katzenberg MD, who practices preventive cardiology and Edna Silva RN. The Heart Series is right for anyone who wants to prevent, halt, stabilize and reverse coronary artery disease.
Edna Silva, has been a nurse since 1965. She has worked in a variety of settings. For the past 20 she has been in Cardiac Rehabilitation, most recently the coordinator of the Heart Failure Clinic for the Northwest Hospital. Edna is founder of the Center for Wu Style T’ai Chi Chuan. She is co-creator with Charles Katzenberg MD, of the HEART Series program
Richard D. Feinberg (Richy), is the Director of Public Relations for the Foundation for Cardiovascular Health, Heart Series. In 1993 at the age of 58, He had a heart attack. A week later, he had Quadruple bypass heart surgery and two months later he had another heart attack. Because of additional health problems, he decided to take his daughters’ advise and relocate to Tucson from L.I., N.Y. Arriving in Tucson nine months later, he discovered the Heart Disease Reversal Program. Richy feels he was blessed for being introduced to this unique program.
“Sometimes I visualize this program as a wonderful life saving, educational book that has been transformed into a real live interactive relationship of people who have experienced Heart Disease and how the Heart Disease Reversal Program has shown them the possibilities of a new heart healthy beginning.”
Program Highlights: Risk Factor Evaluation, lipid analysis, label reading, nutritional supplements, heart healthy diets and making healthy choices when dining out…. heart medication review, experience hands-on training in Tai Chi, Yoga. Heart math, exercise instruction, group support, stress reduction, tranquility and communication skills.
Participants receive a heart owner’s manual, a recipe collection, a CD on safe exercise and relaxation. The session includes 12 vegetarian potluck dinners.
For additional information call Richy Feinberg at 520- 797-2281