Carnie Wilson is reflecting on growing up in a “dysfunctional” rock and roll family.
The 55-year-old singer is the daughter of The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson and a member of the pop vocal trio Wilson Philips, which she formed with her sister Wendy Wilson and friend Chynna Phillips in 1989. During a recent appearance on the hit FOX singing competition show “We Are Family,” Wilson performed with her daughter Lola, who is following in her footsteps.
In a joint interview with Lola for Fox News Digital, Wilson opened up about the importance of putting her family and faith first in her life.
“It’s my survival,” the five-time Grammy Award winner said.
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Carnie Wilson opened up about the importance of prioritizing family and faith after her “dysfunctional” rock and roll childhood. ( Bobby Bank/Getty Images)
She continued, “I came from a dysfunctional family in the rock and roll world, and there was so much that was so crazy and erratic.”
“My dad did the best he could and gave us this beautiful, beautiful legacy,” Wilson added. “But my mom was so young when she had me and my sister. And so, music is the one steady common denominator, nucleus of our lives.”
Brian, 81, shares Carnie and Wendy, 54, with his ex-wife Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, a former member of the girl group The Honeys. The pair married in 1964 and Marilyn gave birth to Carnie in 1968 when she was 20. The couple welcomed Wendy a year later. In 1978, they divorced after 14 years of marriage.
Wilson and her daughter Lola recently performed together on Fox’s “We Are Family.” (David Livingston/Getty Images)
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Lola, 18, explained that music was “her faith.”
“It’s her everything,” Wilson said.
“It’s our faith,” Lola added of her family.
“Yeah, that is our faith and our everything,” Wilson continued. “It’s so interesting what ties us together, what has kept us together. It’s the thread. And this is a strong thread. More like a rope.”
“Whatever it is, music is that,” she added. “My dad’s getting older now and we don’t see him as much, and we miss him and love him. And my mom is getting up there too, but she’s still so great. And she does perform with us in Oregon for a Christmas show.”
“As often as we can get this family together singing during the holidays — we all sat around and sang and it’s just what we will always do,” Wilson said. “Music is huge.”
Wilson is the daughter of The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
“And the faith in my life, my higher power — I’m still sober all these years and it’s wonderful,” she added. “The priorities are family and time goes by so fast. So you just have to make the best of every single day and stay positive and keep your family and your friends close.”
Wilson battled alcoholism and drug addiction after she underwent gastric bypass surgery in 1999. The “Release Me” singer has been sober since 2004. During her interview with Fox News Digital, Wilson opened up about how she maintains her sobriety despite her struggles with addictive impulses.
“It’s one day at a time. It really is,” she said. “Some days I wake up in fear and I don’t know why. I drop to my knees, I pray. And I’m grateful every day to be sober.”
WATCH: Wilson Phillips’ Carnie Wilson on the importance of music to her family and how faith helps her maintain her sobriety
“I’m wired this way,” Wilson explained. “I was born this way. It’s like I always want more of what tastes good. Feels good, smells. Smells good. Sounds good. I just want more. And it’s very hard for me to sort of put the…”
“Cap?” Lola suggested.
“Yeah, the cap on it. And it’s like they’ve seen me as a sober mother, thank God,” Wilson said of her children. “But there are so many people out there that struggle with it.”
“For me, a 12-step program worked for me,” she continued. “It’s the only thing that’s kept me sober. I don’t know what else to say. It’s anonymous. Yes, it is anonymous. By saying that, I guess it’s not, but it works for me. And I’m loyal to it”
“I share my sobriety with a lot of people, and I’ve noticed on Instagram and stuff like that — there’s so many people now that are really open about it,” Wilson said. “But we have to be open. You have to give it away and be open in order to keep it. Because that’s what my alcoholism and whatever it is — that’s the isolation, that’s the isolating part. And when I share it and I’m open about it, that’s when I know that I’m hopefully guaranteed another day.”
Wilson and husband Rob Bonfiglio have been married for 23 years. (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
The California native shares Lola and daughter Luciana, 15, with her husband of 23 years, musician and producer Rob Bonfiglio. While speaking with Fox News Digital, Wilson reflected on her secret to a successful marriage.
“Not seeing each other too much?” she quipped with a laugh. “Just kidding. He’s always in the studio but we do travel on the road.”
“I think the secret is just trust,” Wilson continued. “And when you’re feeling b—-y or angry, you’re uptight, you just show it and be yourself and always have each other’s back. And just communicating and trust is number one.”
“And knowing that if you get into a little fight over something — it’s usually a dumb thing. It’s a stupid argument. And you come back to the spot where — ‘What are we arguing for? I love you.’”
“Where we were here because we were never going to leave each other,”she added. “It’s just this beautiful partnership and that nothing’s perfect.”
Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips along with Wilson’s daughter Lola are pictured performing onstage at Saban Theatre on July 23, 2023. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
During their interview with Fox News Digital, Wilson and Lola recalled their recent appearance on FOX’s new show “We Are Family.” In the series, non-famous relatives of celebrities perform with their famous family members, who are hidden from the audience by a screen named the “Super Sphere.”
An audience of 100 contestants competes to win up to $150,000 by correctly guessing the identities of the famous family members before they are revealed.
Wilson and Lola, whose duets included covers of The Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreamin'” and The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” told Fox News Digital that the experience was “so fun.”
WATCH: Carnie Wilson and daughter Lola share their excitement over performing together on FOX’s ‘We Are Family’
“We loved it,” Wilson said. “It was thrilling and scary and, like, really different. For me, being behind this in this egg — we called it the egg. It’s a sphere, you know?”
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“Hearing Lola sing out there and watching her through a monitor with the headphones on and watching her sing — I was trying really hard not to cry because, you know, you got to have your makeup on and everything,”she continued.
“It was very emotional for me, and I was so proud of her and hearing her sing ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ and just slaying. You know, doing a great job and everybody’s reaction to her. And then we have to sing ‘California Dreamin’’ and then I’m like, in this — behind the stage singing with her.”
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Lola said, “I know, it was an interesting dynamic with me singing with a sphere and then me singing alone and then singing with a sphere, and then she comes out and it’s like, ‘Yay!’
She continued, “And it’s this big reveal. It was just so fun. So fun. And I felt like there was just so much love and support in the room.”
“Yeah. I mean, everyone at Fox, oh, my God, they’re so sweet,” Wilson said. “Everyone on the show, I mean, I’ve known them from different shows I’ve done for Fox before. The positive energy and the audience and the excitement of the game and very cool concept that the audience plays to win money. So they’re super excited. You know, you want them to guess right so that they can get that money, It’s a game show. You know, it’s entertaining and it’s musical.”
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Lola told Fox News Digital that she has known she wanted to be a singer since she was four-years-old.
“As as soon as I got a conscience, you know, like, as soon as I started thinking,” she said. “I just knew that singing made me feel good, and it made me feel happy. And I felt like I could connect with people better than I could with speaking or writing or anything.”
“I feel like music — it’s a big connector,” Lola added.
Lola is pictured giving her grandfather a hug as he performs alongside her mother. (Jeff Golden/Getty Images)
Despite hailing from a famous musical family, Lola explained that she didn’t feel any pressure to pursue a career in the industry.
“I think it’s just like the honor and the gratitude that I have to be able to carry on the legacy,” she said. “Because I feel like even if my family wasn’t musical, I’d still love it.”
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“But it’s even more — it’s an addition that it’s in my blood too,” Lola continued. “I would be so happy to carry on the legacy.”
Wilson told Fox News Digital that she never hesitated for “a minute” over whether to encourage her daughter to enter the entertainment world.
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“Because when someone has this sort of — something that’s built in. So built in,” she said of Lola. “I mean, she is studying voice in college and all that stuff, but she’s already performing.”
WATCH: Carnie Wilson says trust is the key to her 23-year marriage
Wilson continued, “It’s interesting. She’s got a unique situation here. She’s got the connections, but she’s also doing these classes. And she’s studying with a vocal teacher and she’s learning technique, but she also just has a natural gift for singing. And she does have a network around her.”
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“By the way, in this world right now, anybody can sing,” she added. “There is such a huge platform now. So I think that, and I won’t speak for her, but I feel like forever she might feel this connection to The Beach Boys, Wilson Phillips…”
“Forever,” Lola agreed.
Wilson continued, “But then she also has her own expression and her own voice. And it’s a beautiful voice. And people are moved when they hear her sing.”
