Details About Vanna White's Hush-Hush Wedding

Vanna White, the glamorous co-host of "Wheel of Fortune" (and the holder of a bizarre world record) surprised the world when she secretly married her longtime beau John Donaldson on January 21, 2026. The happy couple announced their marriage on White's Instagram, saying that they chose to have a private ceremony after being together for over a decade.

Just a month earlier, White told E! News that she and Donaldson had no intention of tying the knot, saying "When you've been with someone for so long, you kind of feel like you're already married. You don't have to have that piece of paper." Still, the conversation had come up in the past. A source told OK! that White hoped to marry Donaldson in an "intimate ceremony in Hawaii" before she turned 65. White, who barely looks any different than she did when she first appeared on "Wheel of Fortune" in her mid-20s, ended up waiting until she was 68 to wed Donaldson.

The List spoke to wedding planner Danielle Rothweiler of Rothweiler Event Design about White's wedding and the choice to keep it small and quiet. Rothweiler told us, "Let's face it, planning a wedding for over a year, deciding on all of the thousands of details, all for it to happen in one day can be a bit overwhelming and unappealing for some people." In her expert opinion, "A private ceremony is truly just about the couple."

While Vanna White and John Donaldson's relationship was never a secret, their decision to have a small ceremony away from prying eyes makes sense to Danielle Rothweiler. The expert wedding planner explained to The List that while there's "no one reason why a couple might choose to do this," couples who have been together for a long time and "have lived their lives as a married couple, from buying the home to having the kids" often opt for a private ceremony over a big event. 

White and Donaldson have been together since 2012, and while they don't have any children together, White does have a son and a daughter from her previous marriage to George Santo Pietro. Donaldson has been a part of White's children's lives since they were in their teens. 

While White and Donaldson chose to have a quiet wedding, the announcement was quickly met with plenty of well wishes from friends and associates. Fellow game show host Jerry O'Connell commented on White's Instagram post, "Gimme an M. [Gimme an] A. Gimme an R. Gimme an R. Gimme an I. Gimme an A. A G and an E. CONGRATS!" Maggie Sajak, daughter of retired "Wheel" host Pat Sajak, responded to White's post with a happy-crying emoji and a white heart, and Ryan Seacrest congratulated the newlyweds in an Instagram Story (via Today).