Vanna White, the iconic letter-revealer on Wheel of Fortune, said the show's passionate fans helped her cope with the death of her fianc in 1986.
At the time, just four years after Vanna joined Wheel of Fortune, her fiancthe Young and the Restless actor John Gibsondied in a plane crash near Van Nuys airport in Los Angeles, when the small plane he was flying took a nosedive.
It was May 17, 1986, Vanna told People . The second I heard about it, I fell to my knees. It was just devastating.
Following John's death, she received an outpouring of support from the show's audience. I heard from so many people who had shared the same experience of losing someone instantly in an accident, and that really helped me," she said. "I didnt feel like I was alone. Because when something like that happens, you immediately think youre the only one.
Four years after John's death, she married George Santo Pietro, a restauranteur. But the faced a tragedy in 1992, when Vanna suffered a miscarriage after announcing her pregnancy on Wheel of Fortune. (The answer? "Vanna's Pregnant.")
Again, fan support helped her get through it. You have to take their support and try to be strong. Its so hard, but you just have to think, What would they want me to do?Though she later had two "beautiful, healthy" children, she says the miscarriage was traumatic. "But losing a childtheres nothing good about that."
Aside from family, friends, and fans, Vanna embraced her faith during these tough times. Im a Christian and have always had my own personal relationship with God, she said. I dont preach about it, because everyones entitled to their own beliefs. But I pray. I pray every day.