Divisive Beliefs
“[A house] needs a patriarch,” Marie Osmond said Barbara Walters in 1978 in response to concerns about her Mormon faith. Osmond went on to say that having opinions and speaking up was “the man’s job”. It was a divisive viewpoint in the late 1970s, and it did nothing to improve public perceptions of the Osmonds and their church. Unfortunately, this was not the end of the conversation. When Walters inquired about the ban prohibiting black people from joining the Mormon priesthood, Donny Osmond intervened to assure his host that this was “how the Lord wants it”. As you may expect, there was a considerable pushback.
Divisive Beliefs
Playing the Field
The Mormon church may have had limits, but it did not ban Marie Osmond from dating outside the faith, even if it reserved the right to condemn her decisions. Between 1979 and 1982, Osmond made the most of her independence as she searched for the love of her life. She became engaged to an acting student called Jeff Crayton shortly before her 20th birthday, but the relationship ended just a month later. Osmond later had other flings with prominent actors and musicians, including Erik Estrada from the television show CHiPs and Andy Gibb, a Bee Gees brother. She finally found her man, or so she believed. Osmond married Stephen Craig, a Brigham Young University basketball player, on June 26, 1982. A year later, they had a son, Stephen.
Playing The Field
