Ozzy Osbourne’s Forgotten Marriage — The ‘Terrible Mistake’ Before Sharon originally appeared on Parade.
Before Ozzy Osbourne became the legendary “Prince of Darkness” and married Sharon Osbourne, the heavy metal icon had a completely different life with his first wife, Thelma Riley.
This lesser-known chapter of Ozzy’s personal history has resurfaced following his passing on Tuesday, July 22. He is survived by his family, including the children he shared with both Thelma and Sharon.
Fans of the rock legend may not know that Ozzy was previously married — understandably so, as this early romance unfolded before he achieved fame.
As he recalled in his memoir I Am Ozzy, the future Black Sabbath frontman met Thelma while enjoying an evening with friends in 1970. “She was beautiful and I wanted to talk to her,” he wrote. “I pulled her on the dance floor.”
Their whirlwind romance moved quickly, and around a year later, they exchanged vows at a registry office. For young Ozzy, marriage seemed like the natural next step for him.
“I thought it was what you did: get some dough, find a chick, get married, settle down, go to the pub,” he wrote of his view at the time.
A year after their wedding, Thelma became pregnant with their first child, Jessica. A few years later, they welcomed their second child, Louis in 1975. Ozzy also adopted Thelma’s son Elliot from a previous marriage.
For over a decade, the couple tried to make their marriage work, but the relationship proved increasingly difficult. The pressures of Ozzy’s rising fame, combined with his personal struggles, created what he later described as a tumultuous relationship.
The marriage finally came to an end in 1982 when the couple decided to divorce.
That same year, Ozzy married Sharon, who had been serving as his manager. This relationship would become one of rock music’s most famous partnerships, both professionally and personally, as they welcomed three more children together.
Since her divorce from Ozzy, Thelma has chosen to stay away from the public eye, preferring to live a private life. Their relationship, however, was thrust back into the spotlight in 2009 when Ozzy released his candid autobiography.
In his book, the rock star didn’t hold back about his failures as a husband during his first marriage. Ozzy called their union a ” terrible mistake,” taking full responsibility for his shortcomings.
“I put that woman through it. I should have never married her. She didn’t deserve it. She wasn’t a bad person, and she wasn’t a bad wife. But I was a f—ing nightmare,” he reportedly wrote.
Despite the rocky start to his romantic life, he eventually found stability with Sharon, and over time, the rock star’s two main focuses became music and family.
Ozzy Osbourne’s Forgotten Marriage — The ‘Terrible Mistake’ Before Sharon first appeared on Parade on Jul 22, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
