Donnie Wahlberg Stepped Up To Raise His Autistic Stepson After His Biological Father Left & Is All Smiles In Special Family Photo

Jun 22, 2023 by apost team

Donnie Wahlberg has been a crush for many teenage girls over the years, especially during the heyday of the boy group he co-founded, New Kids on the Block, during the late '80s to the early '90s.

While he was dubbed the bad boy of New Kids on the Block, he eventually proved critics wrong over the years when he became a family man. Donnie is more than just eye candy — he also has a good heart.

In August 1999, Donnie married Kimberly Fey. They share two sons, Xavier Wahlberg, born in 1993 and Elijah Wahlberg, whom they welcomed in 2001. However, they decided to end their marriage and filed for divorce in 2008, nearly a decade after they tied the knot.

Donnie met actress and TV personality Jenny McCarthy in 2012, but they only reconnected a year later. In March 2013, Donnie made an appearance on Jenny's talk show "The Jenny McCarthy Show." Then in July 2013, reports about Donnie and Jenny dating surfaced following a report from Us Weekly.

Fast forward to April 2014, when the couple announced their engagement on "The View" and got married four months later in August 2014.

When Donnie married Jenny, they each already had children of their own and together, they enjoy their blended family setup.

In an interview with Us Weekly in November 2019, Donnie described Jenny as an amazing mom and stepmom to their kids.  

“Besides being the best wife that I could have ever imagined having, she’s also the best stepmom and mother,” Donnie said.

Jenny's son, Evan Joseph Asher, who she had with her ex, John Asher, was diagnosed with autism after he was born. Despite Jenny's child being from another man, Donnie stepped up to become his father figure and treated him as his own.

Donnie is one proud dad to Evan, who he described as an interesting man.

“One of the interesting things about us as parents is my son is super intellectual and very reserved. So he’s not the, ‘Hey, dad. Let’s go out and play,’ or, ‘I love you, dad.’ He’s not that type. But he can carry on a great conversation,” he said.

Donnie also formed a connection with Jenny's son that he didn’t get to have with his own children. The same goes for Jenny, who became close with Donnie's son.  

“So we’ve come into each other’s lives and our kids sort of, we connect with our kids in ways that we haven’t connected with our own. So with Evan, Jenny’s son, I get all this amazing ways to connect with him that I don’t get with my son and Jenny now can sit down with my son and talk about,” he remarked. 

Jenny admitted her and Evan’s lives changed when Donnie came into their world. 

“Before I met Donnie, it was really difficult … Being a single mom is so difficult and then a single mom with (a kid) with special needs adds another whole difficulty to the basket,” McCarthy told Page Six. 

When she recounted their engagement story on "The View," Jenny revealed, while holding back tears, that Donnie included Evan in his proposal, and after she had said yes, her son exclaimed, "I have another dad!"

Donnie proved his love for Evan isn’t just all talk. In fact, he already shouldered Evan’s college tuition, which Jenny revealed was Donnie's Christmas gift.

“One Christmas, early on, Donnie handed me one of the greatest gifts ever, which was, I don’t even know how to explain it, but basically that he was taking care of Evan’s college tuition,” McCarthy said.

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Donnie even took to Instagram to congratulate his stepson when he celebrated his 20th birthday.

“Happy 20th Birthday to my awesome stepson @evanjasher! Hope you have the happiest day ever, Evan,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

Jenny isn’t the only one who got lucky, though. Even Donnie said he couldn’t be more grateful to have found someone like her.

“She’s a great partner and to simplify it, having someone to build traditions with my children and it being Jenny is probably the thing I’m most grateful for,” Donnie said.

While the idea of having more children was thrown around for a while, Jenny said they no longer want to have a baby. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she explained that they want to pour their time and energy into their children from previous relationships while enjoying their time together.

"I'm like, 'Oh my god, I really, really kind of still’— I'm at that age where it's like really tick tock," Jenny said. "And we both said we enjoy each other's company so much, and we have three kids (from previous relationships)! So, we want to be able to give all our energy to them and still enjoy our golden years,” she added.

In the same interview, Donnie reiterated that they will no longer have babies and would focus on taking care of their puppies instead.

"We're trying to name our puppy," Donnie said. "We finally came up with DJ, which stands for Denny and Johnny, because it's kind of like our baby. We're not having any more babies,” he added.

Jenny shared with People magazine that her marriage to Evan’s father came to its “inevitable end” soon after her son was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old. Jenny was left a single mother who had to raise a special needs son alone. However, Donnie stepped up to fill that loss for Evan, and the pair now have a bond that is just as strong as a real father and son. 

On Father’s Day on June 18, 2023, Jenny posted a rare family photo of her, her sister Lynette McCarthy, and Evan celebrating the day with dads Donnie and her father, Dan McCarthy, with a spot of golf. The five of them were photographed shoulder-to-shoulder on the green looking happy to spend the day with one another. Jenny captioned the shot:

“A perfect Father’s Day with 2 daddy GOATS @donniewahlberg @chicagomacky ❤️❤️ Along side my son @evanjasher and sis @lynettemcphoto Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.”

In the comments, Donnie responded with a simple red heart emoji as fans gushed over the stunning family portrait. 

“So cute you guys!” one comment read while another user said, “Great picture of a great family❤️”

Meanwhile, Evan also shared photos and a clip from the happy day that showed him flaunting his golf skills by taking a swing that drove a ball far off into the distance. While the snaps were adorable, it was Evan’s caption that stole the show. He wrote:

“Had a great Fathers Day at the country club last Sunday with my amazing stepdad.”

It’s clear Donnie and Evan share a special relationship grounded in love, trust and admiration. The time they spend and activities they enjoy together will no doubt only cement their bond further.

What are your thoughts on Donnie Wahlberg and his stepson's relationship? Did their story move you? Let us know and then pass this on to anyone who would love to read this story!