Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne were married for over four decades and became one of the UK’s most recognisable couples after their hectic home life was put on display in their 2002 reality show The Osbournes.
The couple celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary this month, just weeks before Ozzy died on 22 July following a string of illnesses. He was 76 years old.
Ozzy and Sharon had been effusive about one another in interviews and on social media, with the Black Sabbath frontman previously sharing that the “best moment” of his life was meeting Sharon.
In 2022, Sharon wrote on Instagram: “Over 52 years we have been friends, lovers, husband and wife, grandparents and soulmates. Always at each other’s side. I love you Ozzy.”
The rock and metal icon said of his wife last year: “Sharon is like my soulmate – sometimes I love her, sometimes I don’t love her, sometimes I’m angry with her, sometimes I’m crazy about her.
“But through it all, at the end of the day, I love her more than anything in the world. I couldn’t live without her; I don’t wanna live without her.”
Their marriage, however, was not without its troubles, with Ozzy stating that he regretted cheating on his wife in 2016. His affair led to a brief period of separation.
As tributes continue to flood in for the musician in the wake of his death, here’s everything we know about their relationship.
1970: Ozzy and Sharon meet
Sharon and Ozzy were first introduced in 1970 while Black Sabbath were considering her father, Don Arden, as a prospective manager.
1979: Sharon starts managing Ozzy
The couple began dating nine years later after Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath for substance abuse. Sharon took over as Ozzy’s manager and encouraged him to forge a solo career.
1982: Ozzy and Sharon get married
Sharon and Ozzy were married in Hawaii just months after his divorce from his first wife, Thelma Riley, was finalised. He was still legally married when they began dating in 1979.
1983-1985: Sharon and Ozzy welcome their three children
A little over a year after they were married, Sharon and Ozzy welcomed their first child, Aimee, in 1983. Their second daughter, Kelly, followed in 1984, and their son Jack was born in 1985.
1989: Ozzy tries to kill Sharon
Four years after their third child was born, Ozzy attempted to kill Sharon by strangulation during a drug-influenced episode. She escaped by pressing a panic button that alerted the police.
Ozzy later described the incident as “not exactly one of my greatest achievements”, while Sharon said it was “probably the most frightened I had ever been”. Ozzy was sent to rehab for six months.
2002: Ozzy and Sharon launch their reality show ‘The Osbournes’
Sharon and Ozzy’s chaotic personal life was famously documented in MTV’s reality show The Osbournes, which ran for four seasons between 2002 to 2005.
In a 2009 interview, Osbourne said he was high on marijuana for the duration of filming. Two of his and Sharon’s children, Kelly and Jack, also featured in the series. Their eldest, Aimee, declined to appear.
2016: Sharon and Ozzy briefly separate amid rumours of an affair
After denying divorce rumours in 2013, Sharon and Ozzy briefly separated in 2016 following reports of his infidelity. Months later, he claimed their relationship was “back on track”.
Sharon later alleged that Ozzy had engaged in extramarital affairs with six different women. “Some Russian teenager, then a masseuse in England,” she said. “He had women in different countries.”
She publicly forgave Ozzy for cheating on her during an appearace on US show The Talk in 2016, describing him as a “romantic fool”.
2017: Ozzy and Sharon renew their wedding vows
Following their reconciliation in 2016, Sharon and Ozzy renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas.
Ozzy later told Hello! magazine: “For me this was our real wedding day. This is the one that I will remember. Sharon and I have been through so much, and this honestly feels like a new beginning.”
2021: Sharon says her relationship with Ozzy had been ‘volatile’
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Sharon said in 2020 that she and Ozzy’s relationship had been consistently violent. “Our fights were legendary because we would beat the s*** out of each other,” she said. “It stopped, must be, 20 years ago – but we had a good run.”
2022: Sharon says she and Ozzy are ‘still in love’
Despite their tumultuous history, Sharon declared in 2022 that she and Ozzy were still very much in love 40 years into their marriage. “Our relationship at times was often wild, insane and dangerous,” she told Variety. “But it was our undying love that kept us together.”
2024: Sharon admits she attempted suicide after Ozzy’s affair
While performing her one-woman show, Sharon Osbourne: Cut the Crap, Sharon revealed she had taken “I don’t know how many pills” after learning about Ozzy’s repeated infidelity with one woman.
“He always had groupies and I was used to that,” she said. “But when he knows the name of the person, where they live and where they work…It’s a whole different thing as you’re emotionally invested.”
2025: Ozzy dies aged 76
Ozzy Osbourne died, aged 76, on 22 July. The news was announced in a statement from his family reading: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.
“He was with his family and surrounded by love.”
