Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg’s annual Christmas card has arrived, showcasing the couple looking more glamorous than ever. The festive reveal, shared by Wahlberg, 56, on November 28, highlighted their tradition of elaborate holiday visuals.
“Happy Holidays! It’s here again,” Wahlberg announced on Instagram, referring to “Jenny and Donnie’s annual Formless Beauty Christmas Card!” He added that “this year’s Palm Springs Christmas Doll Box photo comes with all the holiday trimmings!” The couple posed as dolls inside a life-sized cardboard box for the main image.
Wahlberg’s social media post also offered a behind-the-scenes look at the card’s creation. The video transitioned from a scene of the pair bundled in winter coats and hats in a snowy setting to them donning red swimwear. Wahlberg displayed his abs in swimming trunks, while McCarthy, 53, dazzled in a tiny red bikini, completing her glamorous look with a Santa hat atop her loose blonde waves. The video concluded with a tender kiss from McCarthy on Wahlberg’s cheek.
This vibrant display, however, belies a challenging year for McCarthy, who has openly shared her recent health struggles. The television personality has undergone extensive medical procedures, revealing a series of debilitating issues that have impacted her significantly.
“I had nine surgeries in my mouth this year,” the Masked Singer panelist disclosed to People on November 26. “I had an infection that went into another and another, and then I got lumps on my eyeballs.” Her health ordeal began with a ceramic dental implant that failed.
McCarthy described the painful progression of her condition. “My teeth were falling out, the implants were coming out,” she recalled to the publication. “They finally had to dig into my jaw and chip away some and that’s where they found that I had a deep bone infection. I’ve been on antibiotics for a year and had to eat only soft foods. Every time we thought it was healed, it would come back again. I was in intense pain, jaw swollen, and at the same time, I was getting these lumps on my eyes.” She confirmed she has undergone two additional mouth surgeries since the Christmas card photoshoot.
The former model noted that she appears slimmer in the Christmas card due to the weight loss induced by her health condition. Beyond the recent dental issues, McCarthy has also contended with Hashimoto’s disease, a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting the thyroid gland.
In a March episode of the “Heal Squad” podcast, McCarthy recounted her difficult experience with dietary changes aimed at managing Hashimoto’s. “I tried a vegan diet and almost died,” she stated. “I got so sick. I was drained and fatigued. It was a mess. Some people function and heal better on a vegan diet and some don’t. It’s what you believe, you have to follow your intuition and also what your blood or body dictates. Your body will let you know, by the way.”
Following the unsuccessful attempt at a vegan diet, McCarthy transitioned to a "total carnivore" diet. “I thought, ‘Ugh, okay. I’m from Chicago, so I can handle it, but I felt a low-vibration heaviness’,” she explained. “I was more into eating salmon and doing light things like this, but I felt like I should still try; it was like my last option. It has been amazing for me — and I emphasize, for me—.”