‘Wheel of Fortune’ Hostess Vanna White Opens up About Relationship to Longtime Boyfriend John

Despite her nearly decade-long relationship, Vanna White is in no hurry to get married. The 62-year-old Wheel of Fortune hostess recently opened up to Closer Weekly about her longtime boyfriend John Donaldson. While they’re both happy in the relationship, neither of them feel the need to walk down the aisle.

“We’ve been together for eight years and it seems to be working so we’re both happy, so in my eyes, I feel — in both of our eyes — we feel married,” White explained. “So I don’t think you necessarily have to have a piece of paper unless you want to. Everybody’s different, so for each his own.”

White’s no-frills approach to her relationship also extends to her idea of a perfect date night. “It would be a very simple dinner with a bottle of wine,” said White. “At home or at a restaurant, you know. As long as I’m not cooking!”

Back in 1990, White married filmmaker George Santo Pietro. The couple had two children before they called it quits 12 years later.

White became the permanent hostess of Wheel of Fortune on December 13, 1982 (exactly 37 years ago today), and this week was seen taking on a new role as host while Pat Sajak took time to recover from emergency surgery. While her first time running the show was met with mixed reactions online, the Girl Scouts were behind her 100 percent. She later admitted she was “very nervous” about taking the new gig.

“Normally I just stand there and I turn my letters, and I’m just happy as can be not having to worry about anything else,” White said. “But here I am controlling the game, so logistically it was much harder.”

She also admitted that the whole thing “was a huge shift because all of a sudden all the attention was on me.”

“I had to carry the show and make sure the contestants were well taken care of. I had to be present for every second, every spin, every letter called, every prize on the wheel,” White said about her temporary hosting gig.

Off the Wheel of Fortune set, White also was named godmother of the Carnival Panorama, the latest addition to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, and presided over a ceremony where the ship’s name was revealed. “Naming Carnival Panorama was truly a special moment, and one I will never forget,” White said. “I look forward to sailing on her in the future.