Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White weds longtime partner John Donaldson: 'Surprise! We got married'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Wheel of Fortune' icon Vanna White has tied the knot with her longtime partner, real estate developer John Donaldson.

The private (and suprise) wedding ceremony marked a joyful milestone in a love story that has spanned over a decade.

The television star announced her marriage on Instagram on Wednesday, January 21, sharing a photo from the intimate ceremony along with a heartfelt caption.

“Surprise! We got married!” White wrote.

“John 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,” she added.

“We’re excited to share this new, joyful chapter in our lives with all of you! Love, Vanna and John,” the post concluded.

Vanna White's decade-long relationship with John Donaldson

White and Donaldson first met in 2012 when a mutual friend introduced the California-based real estate developer at one of White’s barbecues.

The connection, according to White, was instant.

“I remember looking at him and thinking, 'He’s really cute',” she had recalled in a 2019 interview to People. “We ended up talking for a long time that night.”

From the beginning, the relationship developed at an easy pace, something White has repeatedly credited as the foundation of their lasting bond.

“It just works,” she said at the time. “He lets me be me, I let him be him. There is no drama in our relationship.”

Despite being together for a little over 12 years, White and Donaldson long maintained that they didn’t feel the pressure to marry.

As recently as October 2023, White explained that emotionally, they already felt like a married couple.

“I mean, we’ve been together 12 years, and I feel like we are married,” she told People in a separate interview in 2023.

“Do we have to get married? No, because we feel comfortable in our relationship. You know what I mean? I know that he’s the one. He knows I’m the one.”

At the time, she revealed that marriage wasn’t even a frequent topic of conversation between them.

“We don’t really talk about it, but you never know,” she said. “I mean, I guess we could, but in my eyes and his eyes, we are married.”

White has often spoken about how compatible she and Donaldson are, describing him as essentially her counterpart.

“He is the male version of me,” she once shared. “We really are very similar.”

Donaldson owns and operates his own construction and development company in California, and the couple has largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight, choosing privacy over publicity despite White’s fame.

White's past marriage

Both White and Donaldson have been married before.

White was previously married to restaurateur George Santo Pietro from 1990 to 2002.

The couple, now divorced, share two children: son Nicholas 'Nikko' Santo Pietro and daughter Giovanna 'Gigi' Santo Pietro.

White has spoken openly in the past about prioritizing family and balance, especially while navigating life in the public eye.

 John Donaldson has been a part of Vanna's family traditions with her kids on several occasions and continues to maintain a close bond with them.