The Casual Way Vanna White Met Her Boyfriend John Donaldson

Vanna White has not always been lucky in love. The "Wheel of Fortune" letter-turner faced a tragedy when her fiancé, actor John Gibson, died in a plane crash in 1986. "It was obviously very hard, it's so hard to lose someone instantly like that and be in the public eye, you want to mourn yourself, but I have to say there were so many people that reached out to me," White shared on the "Tamron Hall Show." White married restaurateur George Santo Pietro in 1990 and experienced another devastating loss when she miscarried two years later. The couple went on to have two children together, and after 12 years of marriage, White and Santo Pietro divorced in 2002.

After a failed engagement with businessman Michael Kaye, White moved on with her boyfriend, John Donaldson. Unlike White, Donaldson is not in the entertainment business, but a chance encounter brought the two lovebirds together and they have been together since meeting in 2012.

Food has a way of bringing people together, as was the case with Vanna White and her current beau, John Donaldson. The two casually met at a mutual friend's house during an outdoor grilling sesh. "I remember looking at him and thinking, 'He's really cute.' We ended up talking for a long time that night," White told People. Donaldson, who owns a construction business and isn't in the limelight like Vanna, shares White's laid-back approach to life. "It just works. He lets me be me, I let him be him. There is no drama," she stated.

White echoed the same sentiment in an interview with Closer. "He is kind, understanding and lets me be me. Today, I am happy just the way things are. The biggest surprise to my fans is probably how simple I live in real life," she shared. As for whether there'll be wedding bells anytime soon, the former model stated, "Will we get married? I don't know. At this point, I feel like I am married. Everything is so good, there's no reason to change anything." Despite her words, there have been hints that the couple is ready to tie the knot sometime in the future — and it looks like White is all in.

Vanna White doesn't have to be officially married to John Donaldson to think of him as her hubby. "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," she told Closer in 2019. However, a source revealed to Radar the previous year that White was ready to walk down the aisle with her boyfriend and isn't planning on signing a prenup. "Vanna doesn't want to treat marriage like a business deal, fearing that will only jinx it. She isn't bothered by the fact that she has $30 million and John has significantly less. This is love and she's sure it's going to last. In fact, she tells friends that she already feels married to John!" the insider shared, adding that White's kids are a fan of Donaldson.

It seems that Donaldson has integrated himself nicely into White's family and is even a regular member of their seasonal cards. "Happy Holidays from my family to yours!" White told fans while sharing a picture of her and Donaldson with her two adult children. In 2020, she posted a vacation pic of the foursome and wrote, "Happy New Year from our family to yours! #2020." Although they're not married on paper, White and Donaldson definitely act like husband and wife and they don't need it to be official to prove their love for each other.