{"id":10267,"date":"2026-01-27T21:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=10267"},"modified":"2026-01-27T21:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:46:19","slug":"vanna-white-marries-longtime-love-in-surprise-wedding-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2026\/01\/vanna-white-marries-longtime-love-in-surprise-wedding-ceremony.html","title":{"rendered":"Vanna White Marries Longtime Love in Surprise Wedding Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10270\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10270\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10270\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/413\/2026\/01\/Vanna-White_credit-officialvannawhite-Instagram.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10270\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">@officialvannawhite \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After more than a decade of life together, Wheel of Fortune icon Vanna White quietly married her longtime partner, John Donaldson \u2014 and fans are overjoyed for the couple.<\/p>\n<p>White, 68, revealed the news on Instagram with a joyful announcement and a photo from their private ceremony. \u201cSurprise! We got married! \u2764\ufe0f,\u201d she wrote, later adding, \u201cJohn 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\u2019re excited to share this new joyful chapter in our lives with all of you! Love, Vanna and John.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTyQ3pskii5\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTyQ3pskii5\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Vanna White (@officialvannawhite)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The wedding came as a surprise even to many who had followed the couple\u2019s journey. The pair first met in 2012 when a friend introduced Donaldson at one of White\u2019s barbecues. Looking back in a 2019 interview, White recalled being instantly drawn to him, saying, \u201cI remember looking at him and thinking, \u2018He\u2019s really cute.\u2019 We ended up talking for a long time that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From there, their relationship grew slowly and steadily \u2014 a testament to commitment not often highlighted in celebrity culture. \u201cIt just works,\u201d White once said, explaining that the key to their relationship was peace and mutual respect. \u201cHe lets me be me, I let him be him\u2026 There is no drama in our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the couple had previously been unsure whether they would ever formally marry. In 2023, White openly wondered if tying the knot was even necessary after so many years together. \u201cI mean, we\u2019ve been together 12 years, and I feel like we are married. Do we have to get married? No, because we feel comfortable in our relationship,\u201d she told PEOPLE at the time. \u201cI know that he&#8217;s the one. He knows I&#8217;m the one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet somewhere along the way, the couple chose to make their commitment official \u2014 not with a celebrity-style spectacle, but with a modest private ceremony surrounded by love. In the wedding photos, White wore a beaded white dress while Donaldson sported a simple suit and unbuttoned shirt, giving the moment a relaxed and personal feel.<\/p>\n<p>Fans and friends quickly flooded her social media post with congratulations. Even the official Wheel of Fortune account chimed in, commenting, \u201cCongratulations!! ??.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White has been open in past interviews about how similar she and Donaldson are, calling him \u201cthe male version\u201d of herself. Donaldson, who owns a construction and development business in California, has kept a low profile throughout their relationship, adding to the sense that this marriage was built quietly, intentionally, and at their own pace.<\/p>\n<p>Both White and Donaldson have been married before. White shares two adult children \u2014 Nicholas and Giovanna \u2014 with ex-husband George Santo Pietro.<\/p>\n<p>In an age when relationships can be rushed, publicized, and complicated, Vanna White\u2019s story is refreshingly simple: love can grow patiently, privately, and beautifully over time. And sometimes, after 13 years, the best next step is simply saying \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After more than a decade of life together, Wheel of Fortune icon Vanna White quietly married her longtime partner, John Donaldson \u2014 and fans are overjoyed for the couple. White, 68, revealed the news on Instagram with a joyful announcement and a photo from their private ceremony. \u201cSurprise! We got married! \u2764\ufe0f,\u201d she wrote, later&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":10270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vanna White Marries Longtime Love in Surprise Wedding Ceremony<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After ore than a decade together, Vanna White quietly marries longtime love John Donaldson, sharing a joyful new chapter with fans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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