Jenny McCarthy Throws Out 30 Years of Clothes and Donnie Wahlberg's Whole Wardrobe After Mold Poisoning Ordeal

LOS ANGELES — Jenny McCarthy says her fight with mold poisoning has cost her almost everything she owned. She threw out three decades of clothes, left all the couple's furniture behind and got rid of her husband Donnie Wahlberg's entire wardrobe.

McCarthy is 53 and a panelist on "The Masked Singer." She talked about it on the Nov. 10 episode of her podcast, "The Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg Show." Her guest was autoimmune disease specialist Dr. Amy Myers. McCarthy was candid about the illness, the treatment and the anxiety she says has stayed with her.

"I wound up throwing everything away," McCarthy said.

She said she had so few clothes left that she had just bought her first new outfit. Until then she had been getting by on cheap online purchases. "I've been wearing clothes from TikTok Shop," she said.

Losing a lifetime of clothes has made her wary of shopping again. "I'm afraid to spend money on clothes anymore because I had to give everything away," she said.

The clothes meant more to her than their price, she said. "I'm like, that's 30 years of clothes, of red carpet events and memories," she said. "But then again when you're as sick as you are from mold, it doesn't matter."

Husband's Clothes Also Discarded

McCarthy said Wahlberg's belongings went too. She recalled telling him that his clothes "also have to go bye-bye."

Wahlberg is 57, a former New Kids on the Block member and a "Blue Bloods" star. The two married in August 2014. They met through television appearances in 2012 and 2013, and their early marriage became the A&E reality series "Donnie Loves Jenny."

McCarthy said the couple also left their furniture behind when they moved out of their Los Angeles home. She said she did it even though she doesn't believe the house was the source of her illness.

"We left all of our furniture behind, even though I believe my mold poisoning came from my makeup room because my makeup artist got very sick with me ... but still I didn't want to risk anything," she said.

A Makeup Room Under Suspicion

McCarthy said she now believes the exposure happened in the makeup and dressing room where she worked. She said she and her makeup artist both developed puzzling symptoms, including small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, known as SIBO, and what she called "black nails."

They eventually had tests done, McCarthy said. "So we got tested, we both had very similar mold, but different experiences," she said.

She said her makeup artist recovered much faster than she did, while she was still in treatment many months later. Neither the studio nor the building has been publicly named in connection with her claims, and there is no independent confirmation of where the mold came from.

McCarthy said that after a long run of tests, a doctor told her she had a serious form of mold exposure. According to McCarthy, the doctor called it "the type of mold that causes seizures." She has called her condition mycotoxin poisoning. Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by some molds.

"PTSD From Mold Poisoning"

The illness has affected her mentally as well as physically, McCarthy said. She described a lasting fear of being exposed again.

"I didn't realize you could have PTSD with mold until I had PTSD from mold poisoning," she said. "Anywhere I'd walk, I'd have a histamine reaction. Everywhere I'd go, I'd panic that there was mold even if there wasn't mold in the places."

She said the fear peaked this summer during a stay at a Las Vegas hotel with Wahlberg. The couple arrived late at night and she fell asleep quickly. When she woke up, her eyes were slightly swollen.

"I was like, 'There's mold in this room,'" she recalled.

McCarthy said there were times she was afraid to sleep indoors at all. She also said she had what she called a nervous breakdown during the ordeal. She said the treatment routine is grueling and still sometimes leaves her in tears.

She said she is "not cured yet." She also said she is "getting so much better than I was."

A Long Search for Answers

McCarthy has said her health troubles go back about two years. Unexplained symptoms sent her from one doctor to another before she was diagnosed with mold poisoning in 2025.

She has credited Wahlberg with standing by her during her recovery. When she has talked about the illness publicly, she has often pointed to his support.

Her comments drew a wide response online. Many listeners shared their own experiences with mold exposure and detox treatment. Others questioned whether throwing out everything she owned was necessary.

What Experts Generally Say

Indoor mold is a common problem, especially in buildings with water damage, leaks or poor ventilation. Public health agencies say mold exposure can cause stuffy noses, wheezing, and eye or skin irritation. People with allergies, asthma or weakened immune systems can have more serious reactions.

Whether airborne mycotoxins in homes and workplaces cause lasting illness is still debated among medical researchers. Some practitioners, especially in integrative and functional medicine, treat what they call mold toxicity. Many mainstream physicians say the evidence for that diagnosis is limited. Health authorities generally recommend fixing moisture problems and cleaning up visible mold. They say the right response depends on the situation.

That debate hasn't changed McCarthy's view of her own experience. She has made her recovery a recurring topic on her podcast and invites specialists to discuss it.

Outspoken on Health Before

This isn't the first time McCarthy has talked publicly about health issues. Over the years she has written books on motherhood and wellness, and she has often discussed health on television and in interviews.

Her latest comments are among the most personal she has made. She described a disruption that went well beyond doctor's appointments, to the closets, couches and keepsakes of a shared life.

For now, she says, she is focused on getting better, one TikTok Shop outfit at a time.