Marie Osmond Opens Up About Son's Suicide

Marie Osmond remembers one of the last conversations she had with her 18-year-old son Michael Bryan.

"When I heard him say to me, I have no friends, it brought back when I went through depression because you really feel so alone," Osmond, 51, said on Thursday's The Oprah Winfrey Show. "I'm not a depressed person, but I understand that place, that darkness.

"I told him … Mike, I'm gonna be there Monday and it's gonna be okay," she continues. "But depression doesn't wait till Monday."

Bryan committed suicide last February by jumping to his death from his apartment in downtown Los Angeles.

"I've been through some tough things in my life," says Osmond, whose 2001 memoir Behind the Smile detailed her own battle with postpartum depression. "This is … probably the hardest thing I've been through."

When Winfrey asks Osmond whether she lives with regrets, Osmond replies, "I think there's always 'what if's.' What if I had just put him on a plane and said come be with me, or gone there? I think if you live in 'what if's,' you stop living."

Osmond also addresses the reasons she chose to head back to work only weeks after his death.

"It was really hard," she says. "It was a calculated decision. I'm unique, I guess. I'm a female in the entertainment business who has been working 48 years consistently. My stage is my safe place. It doesn't scare me, like I guess it scares some people. And I knew that if I didn't get back on stage that I may never get back on stage."

Donny Osmond: Marie's Dealing with 'Her Own Demons' After Son's Death

Nearly three months after her son Michael's suicide, Marie Osmond is "doing great," her brother Donny says.

"She needed to get away and just take care of her own demons in her own mind and begin this process of repairing," he tells Entertainment Tonight in a recent interview. "Marie is a strong woman but she's going to collapse – and she did."

Osmond's son, Michael Bryan, died on February 26th after jumping from the balcony of his Los Angeles apartment. Since his death, Osmond and her brother have returned to the stage, performing their Las Vegas variety show.

Marie Osmond to Remarry?

Could this be true? Just weeks after the death of Marie Osmond's son, Michael, reports are surfacing that she'll soon be remarrying her former husband...but it's not with Michael's dad, Brian Blosil.

According to sources, Osmond and her former hubby, basketball player Stephen Craig, are considering marriage again.

Their first marriage ended back in the late '80s after just three years.

According to one insider: "Stephen helped Marie pull through (after Michael's death)… He asked her to marry him and she's accepted. The truth is Marie never stopped loving him. I think they were just too young when they first hooked up… The timing just wasn't right. Now it seems to be."

Marie Osmond Makes Emotional Return to Stage

With tears in her eyes and her voice shaking at times, Marie Osmond donned her bravest face Tuesday night as she took to the stage for the first time since the death of her son for a show that she dedicated to him.

"The way Osmonds survive is we keep singing," she told the audience at the Flamingo Las Vegas, performing one day after the funeral. "That's what we want to do tonight. I know my son would want that and this show is for him."

The crowd in the sold-out showroom applauded her throughout the 90-minute show, giving her a standing ovation when brother Donny said, "I think we need to give a big round of applause for my sister for even coming on stage."

Though saying the show would be a little different than others, Osmond fought through her emotions and remained largely on schedule. Taking a moment to introduce an opera song, she spoke of her Mormon faith helping her through the past week before dedicating the song to her son Michael Bryan, 18, whom she called "my angel." Michael took his own life on February 26th.

While going back to change into her outfit for the song she told herself to "pull it together."

With Marie off stage, Donny marveled at her ability to perform Tuesday, calling her a "strong woman" and saying, "I hope you all appreciate what she's going through tonight."

But despite their grief, the duo did have fun on stage, performing in a dance-off, with Marie joking about her brother's dancing skills. Donny was very quick to point out that he won Dancing With the Stars. Marie, in turn, challenged her brother to dance in heels as she had done on the show.

As the Vegas performance neared an end, Marie continued to smile but appeared overcome with emotion as she wiped away tears and struggled to finish the evening's final song, "It Takes Two".

After the music stopped and crowd came to it's feet, Donny simply walked to his sister and hugged her.

Marie Osmond Joins in Solemn Final Hymn for Her Son, Michael Bryan

Marie Osmond had not planned to speak at her son Michael Bryan's funeral.

But as the service drew near an end Monday afternoon, she stood and addressed hundreds of mourners at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel in Provo, Utah, who included her show business brothers, seven surviving children, and one unexpected invited guest: the biological mother of Michael, who was adopted.

"I'd just like to say thank you to everybody," she said. "As you see I have amazing support from great men, my family, my brothers. God was very wise when he put me into a family with honorable men because they have served as examples for my children."

And so, Osmond, 50, said she wanted to use this occasion of horrible grief to "honor my children."

"I'm so proud of each and every one of you," she said. "I'm proud of my son and I honor his birthmother who's here today, who gave me the greatest gift. Thank you for those beautiful 18 years."

Marie then joined all of her brothers in singing the closing hymn, "God Be with You Till We Meet Again."

Her emotional remarks came after her brother Donny and Michael's siblings spoke through tears of their memories of the teen who took his own life.

Donny, 52, choked up during the Invocation and had to take a long pause to gather himself before he said of Marie: "Bless my sister. Bless my sister and her family. May she feel my love and my comfort."

Michael's 12-year-old sister Brianna cried as she called Michael "my best friend" and "the coolest person ever."

"Michael never forgot my birthday," she said. "That's a big deal in a family that's as big as mine! ... The house was more fun when he was home. We had dance competitions to Miley Cyrus songs. He would make up words and sing along. We'd have whipped cream fights in the kitchen."

Also overcome with emotion was Michael's sister Rachael, 17, who spoke of her struggle to understand his death.

"All I had in my mind were questions, most beginning with what if, what if I had done this, what if I had done that, I shouldn't have done this, I should have done that," she said. " We always thought he was going to get married first and have kids. We wanted to go to school together next year."

A Child's Memories

And out of the sadness came a moment of levity when Michael's 7-year-old sister Abigail said playfully, "My brother Michael loved ME the most."

"My brother was funny and he made me laugh," she said. "I liked playing the game Colors with Mike in our pool. My brother wrote a song about me that said I made him very happy. See, he did love me the most!"

And his brother Matthew, 10, added: "My brother had the best jokes. We used to mess around and play-fight but it was not fair because he was bigger than me so he always won."

After the funeral, a private internment was held at a local cemetery.

Marie Osmond's Son's Final Months

Three years ago, one jolt after another hit Marie Osmond's family: the singer divorced her husband of 20 years, her father died at age 90, and her teenage son Michael went into rehab.

By 2008, Osmond and her eight children had left Utah and the home she had shared with her ex Brian Blosil, headed for a new life in Las Vegas, her career rejuvenated by her appearance in 2007 on Dancing with the Stars.

It was a fresh start for her son Michael, too.

Back in 2007, the teen spent time in rehab for substance abuse. At the time, Osmond's brother Donny told People magazine that his sister had been dealing with Michael's issues "for a very long time."

But by 2008, Michael, a talented musician and high school senior, appeared to be doing better: Mom boasted in her book Might As Well Laugh About It that he "had been accepted into a performing arts program for high school students."

Last fall, he enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. One of Michael's close friends says he "was happy" and "loved" L.A. – and the move made Osmond happy, too.

"Wow, I'm proud of that kid!" she Tweeted in October. "He really took charge of his future."

That included giving himself a new last name: Michael (who, like four of his siblings, was adopted) legally changed his last name recently from Blosil to Bryan.

People magazine has learned the teen was estranged from his music-producer father and that the pair had not spoken for months.

His new last name will appear on his death certificate – Michael committed suicide by jumping from the eighth-floor balcony of his downtown Los Angeles apartment.

"We've received notification from his attorney that his name was changed, so we've changed our documentation," L.A. County Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter says.

Osmond family members and sources would not discuss in detail the problems between Michael and his father, and Blosil declined to comment on his son's death.

Osmond, who had visited Michael often in L.A., "is absolutely devastated," Dancing partner Jonathan Roberts said, recalling how the singer visited her son during his stint in rehab. Says Roberts, "We'd stop our lessons so she could call. She would always make time for her kids. She is such a good mother."

Notes the family friend, "Marie knew Michael was troubled, but I don't think she ever thought he would take his life."

Donny & Marie Osmond Returning to Las Vegas

Donny and Marie Osmond have added several dates to their Las Vegas show to make up for canceled performances due to the death of Marie’s 18-year-old son.

The duo have added five shows between April 13th and 17th at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino.

"These were previously unscheduled show dates, added to accommodate guests who had tickets to recently canceled shows due to the personal tragedy in the Osmond family," according to a press release.

Donny and Marie are set to return to the stage on Tuesday, March 9th, following funeral services for her son, Michael Bryan.

"I think performing will help the healing process for her," the show's producer, Chip Lightman, recently stated.

Osmonds Rally Together After Suicide of Marie's Son

The Osmond family is leaning on each other for support after Marie's 18-year-old son committed suicide last week, says brother Donny.

"Whenever there's a situation where there needs to be rallying, the Osmonds rally around each other and support each other," he tells The Insider. "And there's a lot of that going on right now."

Marie's son Michael Bryan (who legally changed his last name from Blosil to Bryan) leapt to his death from his Los Angeles apartment building on Friday, explaining in a note that his severe depression had become too much for him to handle.

Donny Osmond says that after hearing the terrible news, he and Marie's other brothers immediately boarded his private jet to be with their sister in Las Vegas, where she lives and performs.

"It meant a lot to her to have us at her house," he says.

The family gathered in Utah Monday night to support Donny and Marie's nephew David Osmond in the release of his new album, Reflected.

Marie's ex-husband Brian Blosil joined the Osmonds for the event.

Marie Osmond in 'Disbelief' over Son's Suicide

Although Marie Osmond knew her son had problems, she had visited him often in Los Angeles, where he attended school at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and thought he was doing better, a friend stated.

"When she heard about the tragedy, she was a mess. She was in disbelief," says the friend.

Michael, 18, took his own life on Friday night in Los Angeles. The Osmond family has gathered in Las Vegas, where Donny and Marie's show is on hold indefinitely, to mourn together.

"They're doing the best they can," the friend says. "They're all together. She's taking care of her family. They're all trying to explain that certain [bad] things happen while they grieve at the same time. They're trying to understand and make sense of it."

Marie Osmond's Son's Final Words

Moments before he apparently leapt to his death Friday, Michael Blosil text messaged a female friend to alert her to a suicide note he had left in his downtown Los Angeles apartment.

According to a TMZ report, around 9 p.m. Blosil, the 18-year-old son of entertainer Marie Osmond, sent a text to the friend, a fellow resident of the Met apartment building with whom he had planned to spend time that night.

When she arrived at his eighth-floor apartment, Blosil's roommates – who hadn't known anything was wrong – let her in. They recovered the note, in which Blosil, a student at the nearby Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising majoring in apparel manufacturing, had written about being incredibly unhappy.

He also talked about "things he would be doing for the very last time," the TMZ report says, and called the woman "his only good friend in L.A."

Within a few minutes of reading the note, Blosil's friend and roommates heard the sound of approaching sirens.

The Los Angeles City Fire Department received a 911 call reporting the suicide at 9:24 p.m. According to Fire Dept. spokesman Shawn Lenske, "We were dispatched ... for an extreme fall, which is categorized as greater than 30 feet. The person had fallen from a 15-story building. The person was [dead on arrival]."

Lenske also said, "I have no information on whether drugs or alcohol were involved ... The investigation is ongoing by the coroner's and LAPD."

Immediately as word of what happened had spread, students from the nearby Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising began gathering in the lobby of the apartment building. From the street, Blosil's body had been covered with a white sheet.

"Everyone was in shock," student Tammy Nguyen told the Los Angeles Times.

The next day, a few mourners paid quiet tribute to Blosil, braving the rain to leave a few flowers near the building on Flower Street.

The coroner's office reported late Saturday that an autopsy would take place on Sunday. No word yet on the autopsy.

Marie Osmond's Son Commits Suicide

Marie Osmond's teenaged son, Michael Blosil, has killed himself by leaping to his death around 9 p.m. Friday in Los Angeles, reports Entertainment Tonight, which quotes Marie's brother, Donny Osmond, as saying, "Please pray for my sister and her family."

Through her rep, Marie Osmond released a statement Saturday. It says, “My family and I are devastated and in deep shock by the tragic loss of our dear Michael and ask that everyone respect our privacy during this difficult time.”

According to ET, Michael left a note explaining he intended to end his life after a lengthy battle with severe depression that left him, he said, feeling as if he had no friends and could never fit in.

In 2007, Michael, then 16, entered a rehab facility. His mother said at the time, "My son Michael is an amazing young man, shown through his courage in facing his issues. As his mother, I couldn’t be more proud of him."

The reason for the visit to rehab was never disclosed. Michael is one of eight children Osmond has raised with ex-husband Brian Blosil.

By March 2009, Marie told People magazine that Michael seemed to be turning his life around. He was finishing up his last year of high school while living with his mom in Las Vegas, where she and Donny headline a show.

"I couldn't be more proud of him," Marie said at the time. "He's got a 3.9 GPA in high school. He's looking at scholarships to some wonderful colleges."

A rep for Donny and Marie Osmond confirmed that the show at the Flamingo Hotel was canceled Saturday night. It is being determined how long the hiatus will remain in effect.

Marie Osmond, one of nine Utah-bred Osmond siblings, began performing with her brothers at age 3. She has been outspoken about the trials of her own life in the spotlight.

In her 2001 memoir Behind the Smile, she detailed her battle with postpartum depression following the birth of her son Matthew. She also revealed that she had been sexually abused as a child. She did not identify her abusers but said they were not family members.

In 2006, Marie's rep denied that the singer had tried to commit suicide, attributing reports about Osmond to the postpartum she suffered.

Marie Osmond: "Everybody Has a Right to Have Civil Rights"

Marie Osmond, whose gay daughter was just outed by the tabloids, was initially said to be a gay marriage foe based on her Mormon beliefs.

She called Los Angeles radio station KOST 103.5 to clear things up: "Everybody should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. On those types of things, I'm very supportive. When it comes to marriage, I think that civil rights need to be for all. … One of the things that we need to be careful is that we don't create hate, because people believe certain things. And we can't make everyone become homogenized. Everybody has a right to believe what they believe. I do think everybody has a right to have civil rights. That's how I feel."

Marie Osmond Is A Little Bit Prejudice And A Little Bit Close-Minded

Marie Osmond has been keeping a little secret and the world has just found out.

Here's the scoop...

Her oldest daughter, Jessica, is a lesbian and she's been living in sin with her girlfriend in Los Angeles!

An insider told the Globe that it's Marie's "biggest heartache" because Marie always dreamed of a daughter active in the Mormon community and having grandchildren.

Jessica and her partner, who have been happily together for 3 years, consider themselves married even though it's not official.

Too bad Marie's got that Mormon hang up, because no one said that her daughter can't have children. It just requires a little more effort, which in the end produces a kid that someone actually wants to have in the world.

How Marie Osmond Lost 46 Lbs. and Stopped Hating Her Body

Though she shed 46 pounds in 2007, it took Marie Osmond years of struggling with a negative body image until she decided to fight back.

"Our society makes women feel that they should have a body of a skinny little boy," she told People. "We put on five pounds, and we think we're fat … It's stupid."

It's these very issues Osmond, 49, addresses in her new book, "Might As Well Laugh About It Now," which also deals with life's other struggles. Publication date is next Tuesday. Says Osmond: "You have women who feel that they have to get boob jobs to be sexy. It's wrong. We're females, we have curves."

Family Teasing
Osmond felt the pressure to be thin at an early age. As a pre-teen, she remembers being called "the fat sister." While hosting Donny & Marie in the late '70s, Osmond, then a petite 5'5" and 110 pounds, was told she needed to reduce. "The producers said I was an embarrassment and the show was going to be cancelled if I didn't keep food out of my fat mouth. And so, I got down to 93 pounds. I was a lollipop head."

She didn't eat for days at a time and was briefly bulimic. But when the show ended in 1979, Osmond gave up dieting. She gradually gained 40 plus pounds as a result of bad eating habits: skipping breakfast, candy bar snacks and big meals late at night.

It wasn't until her son, Stephen, now 25, expressed concern for her health that something clicked. "Stephen said, 'We need you around for our kids and your grandkids,' " recalls Osmond. "I needed to do it for my kids, but mostly I needed to do it out of self-love. [I] looked at dieting as abusive and controlling but my whole attitude changed to, 'I just want to be healthy.' "

The Turnaround
Her eating habits improved, and she began taking long walks and eventually joined NutriSystem, eventually becoming the program's celebrity spokesperson.

"It took eight years to put [the weight] on, and four months to take it off," she explains. "My metabolism shut off." That same year, she joined Dancing with the Stars and memorably fainted after a samba routine. She was eventually voted off in the finale.

Offstage, her personal life was equally dramatic. "I was going through a major divorce. My father passed away. I had a child who was struggling. He had to go into a rehab situation. I was like, 'Good grief!' " says Osmond.

Her World Crashes
Her divorce from her husband of 20 years, music producer Brian Blosil, came as a bitter blow. "I had a bad marriage for 20 years and a fear of saying that it was a failure," she admits. "You have to say to yourself, 'What am I doing? Am I really taking something and trying to make it average? Does this person keep me down?' " Considering they were together for two decades, Osmond observes with a laugh, "You can't say I didn't give it a shot."

In November 2007, her son Michael, then 16, went into rehab. "Those kinds of things are really very hard for a teenager to deal with," she told People. "And if he ever wants to talk about it ... he will, but it has to be their choice. It's not my choice."

Now out of rehab, Michael Blosil is finishing up his last year of high school while living with his mom in Las Vegas (where she and brother Donny headline in a show at the Flamingo). "I couldn't be more proud of him," says Osmond. "He's got a 3.9 GPA in high school. He's looking at scholarships to some wonderful colleges."

Meanwhile, as Osmond faces turning 50 on October 13th, she jokes, "I call it the female F-word." But, she is quick to add, "I have eight beautiful children. I'm crazy busy, and I feel fantastic. So, that can be, 'Fifty – the F-word – Feel Fantastic.' I love it."

Osmond Returns To TV For Own Talk Show

Veteran entertainer Marie Osmond will return to American TV sets after signing a deal for her own talk show.

Osmond will focus on her off-stage life as a single mum-of-eight on new show Marie, after finalising a deal with Wnbc to air the programme debuting in the autumn.

The show will be aired from Las Vegas, where Osmond currently resides and holds a long-term performance contract with older brother, Donny.

The 49-year-old recently enjoyed a TV stint on on reality competition series Dancing with the Stars in 2007; the siblings also co-hosted a comedy-variety show in the late 1990s.

Donny Osmond Lets Slip He'll Be on DWTS

Donny Osmond has let slip that he is about to step into his sister Marie's shoes – her dancing shoes.

While next season's stars have yet to be announced for the ABC hit Dancing with the Stars, Donny appeared with Marie for a Monday taping of the syndicated The Bonnie Hunt Show for an episode scheduled to air Tuesday.

Asked by his TV hostess if, like his sister, he'd ever consider doing Dancing, the former teen idol, 51, flashed his trademark smile and said, "Well, I guess I am making an announcement. I'll say I am seriously considering doing it, let's put it that way."

Never one for a poker face, Osmond added with a laugh, "I guess I just let the cat out of the bag."

On Dancing's fifth season, Marie, 49, was paired with pro dancer Jonathan Roberts. Not that hers was an easy contest. She passed out after a samba the fifth week, family patriarch George Osmond died the seventh week, and her scores from the judges as the season wound down resembled a roller-coaster track.

Won't Be Upstaged

Even so, her older sibling told Hunt, "I can't let my sister upstage me. Besides, who do you think taught her how to dance?"

"That not fair!" snapped back Marie. "The men do half the work."

"That's why I'm doing it, baby," Donny teased. "It is going to be very difficult because I am going to be doing [the Osmonds' Las Vegas show] on top of doing Dancing with the Stars."

Like a referee, Hunt said, "I think it is going to be fabulous to watch you on the show, Donny. We're gonna love it. You are a natural-born performer."

Interjected Marie: "I just want to see him in stretchy pants."

Source: People.com