'I Was Empty Without Him': Singer and TV Star Donnie Wahlberg Gets Deep About Finding Christ

Award-winning singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg has publicly proclaimed Jesus Christ as his savior, and lately he's been opening up more and more about his faith journey. This week, on his birthday, he posted a video recap of this past year's highlights, sneaking in a few clips of him and his wife, Jenny McCarthy, getting baptized.

In early May of 2026, the 56-year-old went viral for collaborating online with Christian music artist Forrest Frank. They soon released an official remix track together called, "JESUS IS ALIVE (feat. Donnie Wahlberg)." Then in June, Wahlberg went viral again while acknowledging Christ during one of Frank's concerts - MORE HERE.

As he has been taking bold steps to put his faith in practice, Wahlberg also connected with the George Janko Show and shared some of what he has learned. 

Being raised in an Irish-Catholic background as one of nine children, Wahlberg described himself as a "peacemaker" amid chaotic and strained family relations. 

"I come from a very co-dependent family. When my parents broke up, I was around 11, and I immediately became like the peacekeeper and the peacemaker," Wahlberg shared. "The struggle for me was discerning between – and at that age I wasn't discerning – being a people pleaser and just trying to fix everyone else's problems."

The multi-talented star continuously poured into others as the pressure to fix others' problems built up over time.

"Everybody, people that I used to look up to, grown-ups, be like, 'Hey, how do I fix this?' I'm like, 'What do I know? I'm in a boy band'," the New Kids on the Block star recalled. "But then, I am also a people pleaser. I want to fix everyone's problems inherently. So, now I'm like, 'Well, I got to have all the answers', and I literally have walked around for the last 30-something, 38 years thinking I have all the answers." 

After his boy band music success with NKOTB, he then shifted to an acting career, starring in Band of Brothers, Blue Bloods, Boston Blue, and more. 

But as he struggled through the years, trying to figure it out on his own, Wahlberg finally admitted that something was missing and surrendered to God's helping hand.

"It's been so difficult in the last year to realize I don't... I don't have them all. I can try, and I know God's doing all the work, but I finally got to a point where I was like, I can't do it anymore without Him. I'm missing something in my life." 

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For Wahlberg, this powerful admission did not come out of a place of lack or despair, but out of a deep realization that, regardless of all he had achieved, he was empty without God.

"And I have a wonderful wife, wonderful kids. I have everything. So, as I am testifying right now, I don't have a story of having everything and losing it. I don't have a story of being a drug addict and recovery. God bless all those people who find their way," Wahlberg told Janko. "Everything to the outside, to everyone, looks perfect, and I was empty. I was empty without Him."

Along with emptiness, Wahlberg struggled with loneliness and shared how Jesus Christ was the only remedy. 

Despite the challenges he faced, Wahlberg recognizes God's hand and plan through it all. He acknowledges his past as the preparation to properly pour into others today. 

"I look back now and I know without a doubt, He built me into that life to do what I am doing now. I literally spent my childhood in that house trying to make nine kids, my grandma, our dog, our cat, and everyone happy and bring us together and everyone unified as we were fracturing and falling apart," Wahlberg explained. "And that's what I do for a living. I get on stage in front of 20,000 people and their suffering, their struggling, and they're going through all these things." 

As he continues to live out his faith, he celebrated his birthday on August 17, with a post about Jesus, declaring, "Looking back over the past year of my life, the Lord has been renewing my mind, rebuilding my spirit, rearranging my priorities, recentering my focus, recharging my energy, reshaping my heart, refining my faith, restoring my joy and redeeming my life! I don't know where I would be without Jesus, but I know where I will be with Him! All the glory is His! Thank you again and God bless you all!"

And finally, there's also a new video of Wahlberg worshipping God at a CeCe Winans concert, singing "Holy, Forever." McCarthy posted, "Donnie's birthday wish was to see CeCe Winans. What a beautiful night of singing, worshiping and celebrating."

WATCH: Donnie Wahlberg's Powerful Jesus Proclamation Goes Viral | CBN News

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