What Marie Osmond Has Said About The Tragic Death Of Her Son Michael
Marie Osmond was left heartbroken by the tragic death of her son, Michael Blosil, in February 2010. According to The Huffington Post, Michael, who lived with depression and substance use disorder, died by suicide at age 18. "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," Osmond announced in a statement.
By all accounts, Michael and his mom were super close. She was supportive of him during his struggles with addiction and mental health, and she vowed to always be there for Michael if he ever reached out for her help. "Those kinds of things are really very hard for a teenager to deal with. And if he ever wants to talk about it ... he will, but it has to be their choice. It's not my choice," Osmond told People after Michael entered rehab in 2007.
According to TMZ, Michael's friends and roommates told authorities that he'd been clean and sober in the days running up to his death. However, Michael's depression had him dealing with extreme unhappiness and hopelessness. On the night of his death, Michael had arranged to meet up with a close friend to talk through his issues. However, he canceled at the last minute, sending a text that led to his worried friend stopping by Michael's apartment to check on him. They discovered his body.
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Marie Osmond's devastation and pain
Michael Blosil's friends weren't the only ones concerned for him prior to his death. Marie Osmond was also worried about her son after he told her his depression had returned, and she'd planned to meet him the following week. "I'm not a depressed person, but I understand that place, that darkness. I told him, I said, 'Mike, I'm gonna be there Monday, and it's gonna be okay.' But depression doesn't wait 'til Monday," Osmond told Oprah Winfrey in a heartbreaking sit-down.
Not surprisingly, when she learned that Michael had died, Osmond was utterly devastated. "I thought someone had run a knife into my heart," she admitted in her 2013 memoir, "The Key Is Love" (via People). "Not a day goes by that Michael isn't my first thought in the morning and my last before I fall asleep." Although Osmond missed the chance to say one final goodbye to Michael, she took comfort in the fact that he knew how much he was loved. "My one consolation is that I never end a conversation with my children without saying 'I love you,'" Osmond shared. "It was the last thing I said to my son."
Meanwhile, the pain never disappears, but you learn to live with it over time. "You cry until then you can't cry, and then you cry some more," Osmond wrote in her memoir. "Some people don't talk about these things, but we do. I think it's important. I'm healing every day."
Marie Osmond has used her pain to help others
Michael Blosil's suicide rocked his family to its core. They're a large family — Michael was one of Marie Osmond's eight kids. She welcomed her first child with her first (and, after re-marrying, third) husband, Stephen Craig. Osmond shares the other seven, four of whom are adopted, with her second husband, Brian Blosil. Still, despite their complex family tree, they all felt the grief equally. "You can't breathe," Osmond told People. "It affects the children [too]. When you're contemplating something that devastating [as death by suicide] in your life, you can barely function. But the ripple effect is astronomical."
The grieving mom claimed on "The Talk" that Michael's classmates contributed to his mental health struggles. "He was bullied very heavily up until the time he committed suicide because of his sobriety," Osmond said. "I've got the texts. I mean, they are horrendous, and I never took action against it. But I can tell you, honestly, I believe that that was a big component in him just feeling overwhelmed and that he didn't fit in."
In the meantime, Osmond, who is a devout Mormon, leans on her faith and draws from her experience to help others. "I know that feeling of utter despair, praying to wake up from a horrible nightmare and not being able to breathe," she posted on Facebook following the death of her nephew, Troy Osmond. "As time went by, I discovered the only way possible to survive this terrible time was to keep my eyes on the Savior."