Jenny McCarthy and her husband, New Kids on the Block founding member Donnie Wahlberg, have a few secrets to keeping their almost ten-year marriage strong.
“Respecting each other, communicating with each other, being each other’s friends. Finding date nights and doing the work,” McCarthy told Fox News Digital.
“You know that saying… your partner is your best teacher. It really is true. Anything that you need to work on will come out in your relationship. And we were both always willing and still willing to do the work when things come up. And it really is it makes all the difference in the world.”
McCarthy and Wahlberg began dating in July 2013 and tied the knot in August 2014. Wahlberg has two sons from his previous marriage, and McCarthy has one son, Evan, from an earlier marriage.
The couple renews their wedding vows every year on their anniversary.
In 2022, Wahlberg posted about the tradition on Instagram, writing, “Some people ask ‘why do you renew your vows every year?’. Those tend to be the same people that also ask ‘how do you keep your marriage so new?’”
McCarthy has one answer to the question: seek out private time for mom and dad to keep things “spicy.”
“It would be finding rooms that you can make into sexy rooms that are off limits to your children,” McCarthy said.
“So you guys have a safe, quiet space to always go to, to be romantic, whether that’s a closet, a sauna, or the garage. Find the place that you guys can have some quiet, uninterrupted time, especially if you have kids.”
The 50-year-old former Playboy model is just as disciplined in other areas of her life, like maintaining her health and fitness.
“I love food. You can’t take the Chicago out of me. I love to eat,” McCarthy said. “But you have to balance it with then working out and kind of what you eat.” So it’s just a little bit of, you know, waking up on the days you don’t want to do it and doing it.”
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McCarthy is a busy woman, between her work on “The Masked Singer,” her beauty brand Formless Beauty and her relationship with Wahlberg and their blended family.
However, she is eager to do even more with her life.
“I look at life like a blank canvas, and I want to throw as much paint on there as possible,” she said. “I want to learn as much as possible.”
“I still want to do a lot of philanthropic work, like I want to build communities for young adults with autism,” she added. McCarthy’s 21-year-old son Evan was diagnosed with autism at age 2, and the star has been a tireless advocate for research and support.
McCarthy also wants to expand her Formless beauty brand and focus on “pure ingredients in makeup and get rid of the toxins.”
“When I die, I want to go, ‘What am I leaving behind?’ I’m leaving behind a beauty company that really does have the integrity and stuck with it to make it keep makeup clean,” she said.