The Real Reason Aimee Osbourne Didn't Want To Be On The Osbournes
It's been almost 20 years since The Osbournes was first unleashed on unsuspecting audiences, all the way back in 2002, introducing us to the home life of the Prince of Darkness and his eclectic family. Over four seasons on MTV, the Osbourne family set the blueprint for reality television families as we know it today — in particular influencing Keeping Up with the Kardashians, a more sanitized but no less rowdy take on the format.
Alongside Ozzy, his wife Sharon, son, Jack, and daughter Kelly brought the mayhem, worming their ways into the hearts of viewers at home by being apologetically themselves. The Osbournes may have offered a glimpse at the softer side of one of the biggest icons in heavy metal, but it didn't provide a completely warts-and-all look at the family's life. That's because Ozzy and Sharon's eldest daughter, Aimee, opted not to feature on the show. Now, 15 years since it wrapped, we finally know why.
Aimee Osbourne valued her privacy more than fame
Osbourne, now a successful singer, was promoting her latest single during a chat with New York's Q1043 radio program when the question of why she declined to appear on the hit show was broached. "For me, I had grown up around having a pretty well-known dad anyway, and ... I always really valued my privacy within that family," she explained. "And for me, personally, and for who I am, you know, as far as morally and also just to give myself a chance to actually develop into a human being, as opposed to just being remembered for being a teenager, it didn't really line up with what I saw my future as."
The eldest Osbourne acknowledged it suited her parents and siblings just fine, but, "I just knew it was never something that I would have been able to consider realistically." The now 36-year-old actually reckons she may have even been more mature then than she is now, looking back on what was a very adult decision for her then teenage self.
The Osbourne family remain TV fixtures nearly two decades later
During an appearance on The Talk a couple years back, Osbourne's mother, Sharon, admitted she was "heartbroken" her eldest daughter didn't want to take part in the show alongside the rest of the family. "Aimee left home at 16 and she couldn't live in our house because we were filming and it drove her insane," she admitted (via People). Still, it all seemed to work out for the best.
The Osbournes, or at least Sharon, Ozzy, and Jack, are back on our TV screens with a new Travel Channel show titled The Osbournes Want To Believe, according to AltPress. The show finds Jack trying to convince his skeptical parents of the existence of paranormal entities, such as poltergeists and UFOs, via creepy homemade footage. Plus, there's The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, a documentary that follows the Black Sabbath front-man throughout his storied career and is produced by Jack, so there's no shortage of Osbournes-centric content on offer, even 18 years later — but still without Aimee.