Marie Osmond and Brian Blosil's Relationship and Divorce, Explained

Osmond seemed perfectly happy in her marriage from the 1980s through the early-2000s, but recently she shared more details than ever before.

By Michael Hein

For many fans, Marie Osmond and Brian Blosil seemed like one of Hollywood's most stable celebrity couples, making their divorce a source of endless curiosity. While Osmond generally keeps her private life quiet, she recently opened up about the end of her marriage, giving fans some new insight to ponder. Here's a look at what we know and what we've just learned in the last two years.

Osmond and Blosil were married from 1986 to 2007 and raised seven children together before their unexpected divorce. They were respectful of each other in the press at the time, but in February of 2021 Osmond shared more details than ever during an interview on Winn Claybaugh's Master Podcast Club. She acknowledged that some fans were surprised that she got a divorce at all – especially as she is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Blosil was a record producer, and he had one short film role and one stint on a TV crew, but other than that he stayed away from the limelight while his wife was a global star. The couple had two biological children together during their marriage and adopted five more. Then, after 20 years, they split up, and Osmond did not mince words about why.

"I just went, 'I can't do this anymore,'" Osmond recalled. "And my children came to me and said, 'Mom, please leave. We gotta get out of here.'"

All these years later, many fans are trying to contextualize Osmond's new interview with their memories of her marriage to Blosil. Here is what you need to know about the couple and why they split.

Previous Marriage

Before Blosil, Osmond had one broken engagement and one previous marriage. First, she was engaged to acting student Jeff Clayton in 1979, though that lasted only two months. She then married Stephen Lyle Craig, a basketball player from Brigham Young University. The two tied the knot in 1982, had one child together the following year, then divorced in 1985. According to a report by ABC News, Osmond cited "mental cruelty" in her divorce filing.

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Short Engagement

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(Photo: Diane L. Cohen/Liaison)

Osmond reportedly met Blosil at the Jordan River Temple in Utah, sharing her Mormon faith. The two married less than a year after meeting, and began having children immediately. In addition to having Rachael and Matthew Blosil biologically, the two adopted five children: Jessica, Michael, Brandon, Brianna, and Abigail. Osmond is lauded as a super-mom by many fans to this day.

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Depression

Osmond has often been candid about suffering from postpartum depression, particularly after her third biological birth to Matthew. That bout of depression reportedly stretched on, with a particular impact on her relationship with Blosil.

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Children

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A post shared by Marie Osmond (@marieosmond)

All of Osmond's children are frequent guests on her social media posts, and frequent characters in the stories she tells in interviews and on TV. However, her family did suffer tragedy in 2010, a few years after her divorce from Blosil, when their son Michael Blosil died by apparent suicide. According to a report by Closer Weekly, Michael jumped from his high rise apartment in Los Angeles, California, leaving Osmond and the rest of the family devastated. He was 18 years old.

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Separation

Osmond and Blosil reportedly separated privately for several months before going through with their divorce. The couple tried being apart to be sure it was what they wanted before signing the paperwork, though many fans did not know it at the time.

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Amicable

marie-osmond_getty-CBS Photo Archive : Contributor
(Photo: CBS Photo Archive / Contributor, Getty)

Finally, in 2007, Osmond and Blosil announced their divorce in a joint statement, going out of their way to show that there was no malice between them.

"Though our marriage is ending, we continue to have a very amicable relationship," the statement read. "Our marriage has always been a faithful one, and neither of us is assigning fault for the divorce."

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Hindsight

That takes us to the present, where Osmond recently discussed her divorce on Claybaugh's podcast. The singer said that she now realizes she "wasn't happy" for years in that marriage, and even believes that a house fire in 2005 was a divine hint.

"It was probably one of the most freeing things that ever happened to me," Osmond said of the fire. "Because I realized this home I had created was a facade to a marriage that wasn't happy for 20 years. I really believe it was God — they say, 'The burning within.' So sometimes these things happen to wake us up."

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