Donnie Wahlberg thinks his stepson Evan, who has autism, is his “gift.”

The 20-year-old boy follows in his stepdad’s footsteps and just released his first song. His voice shocks fans.
Wahlberg has a “unique” relationship with his stepson, who calls him “dad.”

Donnie Wahlberg, one of the founding members of New Kids on the Block, traded in his bad boy status to become a father. He has two sons of his own and one stepson, who has autism. He shares his biological sons with his ex, Kimberley Fey, and his stepson with Jenny McCarthy, his current partner.

Wahlberg and McCarthy have almost seamlessly blended their families, and all three of the boys treat one another like blood brothers. Wahlberg is fiercely protective of his entire family, especially his three boys.

Wahlberg’s stepson, Evan Asher, is a musician and has recently released his first song with the help of his stepfather. The lyrics were written by Evan, and the music composition was done by Evan, Wahlberg, and Evan’s stepbrother, Elijah, and Wahlberg executive produced the song.

Evan released the song “It Doesn’t Matter” two weeks ago on YouTube with an official music video. He immediately received positive reviews from all those who listened to the “masterpiece.”

One fan said they had the song on repeat all night, another called him a “total rockstar,” and another said the song was a work of art. One person said he was so young and so talented and was eagerly awaiting more music.

One woman said that her heart had been warmed to see that Evan was chasing his dreams and releasing music because it inspired her. She said:

“Evan was the first person I ever heard of had the word autism; now I’m raising my own autistic daughter, and that gives me hope that she can succeed too.”

While Evan has already amassed a fan base, none are as supportive of him as his family. His mother, stepfather, and stepbrothers have all shared their feelings about Evan chasing his dreams.

What Does Wahlberg Feel About His Stepson’s Song?

Initially, Evan had written the song and was not planning on singing it himself. With a bit of encouragement from his stepfather and his stepbrother, who is the lead vocalist for the band Pink Laces, Evan agreed to give it a try.

Elijah became Evan’s partner throughout the whole process and showed him how to become comfortable with singing the music he had written. When it came to making the music video, the boys turned to their father for help.

Wahlberg is now a filmmaker and happily lent his sons a hand in bringing their vision to life with the music video. Talking about how he felt about helping his sons, Wahlberg said:

“It was a joy to help Evan make his song a reality. He is such an incredibly sincere young man who really has the heart of a saint and the spirit of an artist.”

Wahlberg clarified that nothing had been handed to Evan, and he had to work as hard as anyone else to prove that he was worthy of having his song produced. Wahlberg then said he couldn’t feel prouder of Evan than he did when he released the song.

The veteran musician and actor said that even if Evan decided that music wasn’t his ultimate life path, the grueling act of writing, singing, and recording a music video for his song was enough to prove to him that he could do anything.

When Did Evan Call Wahlberg “Dad” for the First Time?
Jenny McCarthy and Wahlberg met when McCarthy was a single mother to Evan. She struggled to raise her autistic son and have a romantic life, but when she met Wahlberg, everything fell into place.

The couple took their time to get to know one another and see if their children all got along before becoming serious about their romantic relationship. Yet they both knew they had met their future spouse.

Evan had never called Wahlberg “dad” until the day that Wahlberg proposed to McCarthy. She explained that she was sitting in a room when both Evan and Wahlberg left, with Evan coming back into the room with a card saying “will” and two subsequent cards saying “you” and “marry.”

McCarthy reflected on the day, saying the next thing that happened was Wahlberg walking into the room with a shirt on that said “me?” She immediately said yes and was crying when Evan exclaimed:

“I have another dad!”

She reminisced that it was at this point they all became emotional and cried tears of joy together as they were finally a family. Evan even did the honors of walking his mother down the aisle at her wedding to Wahlberg.

Talking about the wedding day, McCarthy shared that it was so special because she had her son by her side during one of the most critical moments in her life, and he shared such a beautiful bond with Wahlberg, which made her emotional.

Why is Wahlberg’s Relationship with Evan Different from with His Sons?
While Wahlberg shares an incredible bond with his own sons and Evan, he has admitted that the relationship he has with Evan is entirely different from the bond that he shares with his own sons. He says Evan is a “gift” he has to thank heaven for.

He said that his own sons are more intellectual and not forthcoming with their feelings, whereas Evan is highly affectionate and loves to let Wahlberg know precisely how he is feeling at all times.

Wahlberg says that while McCarthy has intellectual conversations with his sons, he and her son will play ball together or share their love for one another. He gushed:

“So we’ve come into each other’s lives, and our kids sort of, we connect with our kids in ways that we haven’t connected with our own.”

McCarthy and Wahlberg each share a unique bond with each other’s children and are proud of the fact that they have raised their blended family in a way that everyone feels seen and heard, no matter what.

In 2015, Wahlberg even once took to Twitter to say that he had been blessed with two incredible sons and then was even more blessed when he got a third after he married his loving wife in 2014.