Carnie Wilson on Her Mental Health, Weight Loss, Family and Faith Journey (EXCLUSIVE)
By Deborah Evans Price,
10 hours ago
Between juggling touring, her weekly radio gig and her happy home life with husband Rob and their two daughters, Carnie Wilson maintains a schedule most people would find challenging, but she has a simple philosophy for not letting life get her down.
“I try to find the good in every situation,” Carnie tells Woman’s World as our cover girl (get your copy here !). “Life is not gonna stop. We will feel lifted up and weighed down by so many different things—people, places, things. These things are out of our control, but how we react to them is what is in our control. I don’t always react positively at first. Some things need processing, absorbing. Then after that, I can react and try to spin it to something good. It’s not always easy, but all we can do is try.”
Carnie Wilson on the cover of Woman's World Woman's World
It’s that upbeat approach to life that has carried the California native through many different seasons. As the daughter of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Marilyn Rovell of the Honeys, Carnie was raised in a musical family. And although music has always been her first love, the versatile entertainer has hosted her own cooking show and is currently featured each week on Sirius/XM radio on Jeff Lewis Extended. She also still tours with Wilson Phillips—the iconic pop trio of Carnie, her sister Wendy and longtime friend Chynna Phillips, known for such hits as “Hold On,” “Release Me” and “You’re in Love.”
'Hold On' and catch up with Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips!
Sober now for two decades, Carnie is also currently doing speaking engagements about sobriety and mental health. “I am evolving constantly and working on different projects every year,” she smiles. “My Mom always says, ‘You never know what’s around the corner.’ For me, that could be a TV show, a book, or anything that I try and manifest.”
What she’s manifesting this month is some good old fashioned Halloween spirit. “This year I want to do something really fun—maybe dress up as a fairy Godmother or Tinkerbell. I’m in that mood,” she says.
Carnie Wilson talks family life
Married since 2000 to husband Robert Bonfiglio, Carnie has two teenage daughters, Luciana and Lola, and has always enjoyed celebrating the spooky season with her girls over the years. “The best Halloween with my girls was when they were about four and eight years old,” she says. “We’d run from house to house gathering as much candy as possible, showing off their cute costumes and seeing the other adorable children’s costumes, too.”
Family time remains precious to Carnie. “With one of my daughters at college and one in high school now, I am really appreciating the moments when we are all sitting around the dinner table eating a meal I’ve cooked with love,” the Grammy-nominated singer shares. “If we get to sing together while Rob, my husband, plays the guitar, that's the cherry on top.”
The singer's health journey
Carnie Wilson, 2024 @carnie68/Instagram
Even though Carnie is known for her exceptional skills in the kitchen, these days she balances indulgences with discipline. “ I have been maintaining my 40-pound weight loss and I continue to eat no gluten or sugar,” Carnie shares.
“I am trying to increase my exercise and vow to walk at least three times a week. I need to kick in more weight loss, and I think exercise is my answer at this point. I feel so much better than before, and I do believe what we put in our bodies makes an enormous difference.”
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Carnie’s struggles with weight have been well documented over the years as she’s been public about having weight loss surgery in the past. But these days, she’s more concerned with being healthy and feeling good than she is the number on the scale.
“ For me, it was physical,” she says. “My belly was hurting, and I just know that I wasn’t well, so it was the catalyst. I said, ‘That’s it, I’m tired of being in a chokehold by sugar and gluten and I gave it up. No shots or drugs or anything for this weight loss, it’s been purely diet.”
She’s also learned to be more accepting of her body and encourages other women to stop comparing themselves and embrace who they are. “Everybody is unique,” Carnie smiles. “Some people have long legs. Some have short legs. Some have long, thick hair. Some have thinner hair, blue eyes, brown eyes, whatever it is, embrace what you have.”
“Believe that you are beautiful no matter what. It’s really how you treat people and who you are as a person that’s important. Be comfortable in your skin, because you are authentic to yourself. That’s where your real happiness is going to come from.”
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Carnie Wilson finds calm in faith
Carnie Wilson, 2024 @carnie68/Instagram
Carnie also finds peace and comfort in her relationship with God. “I’m on my knees a lot praying,” she says. “I have a very strong connection with my HP [higher power] and I try to just surrender how I’m feeling.”
“I remind myself that there’s a beginning and a middle and an end and that feelings are not facts,” Carnie continues. “If I’m feeling down about something, I try to get to the core of what it is. It usually comes down to fear. Fear of disappointing someone or a resentment or something. If it’s a resentment, I try to pray for the person. If it’s a fear, I try to give it to God so the fear is taken from me and it’s out of my hands. Being very spiritual helps me.”
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