Marie Osmond on Life With Her 3 Grandkids — “I’m the Happiest I’ve Ever Been!”

In the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now, Marie Osmond exclusively shares that despite loss and personal setbacks she has found total joy in her life as a doting grandmother!

“Out of all the awards and accolades that I have been blessed with throughout my life, nothing comes close in comparison with the blessings I receive from being a mother to my eight children and grandma of three,” Marie tells Closer.

Marie with her grandson Stephen Jr. in 2014.

After struggling under the spotlight, being bullied for her weight and facing the heartbreaking loss of her son Michael to suicide in 2010, Marie admits it was a long journey to get to where she is now.

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“There were difficult things, and yes, there were some negatives,” she says. “But you can always look towards the negative — and I refuse to do that. I prefer the light.” And for Marie, 56, her grandchildren — Stephen Jr., 2, Rocket, 8 months, and Christian, 5 months — are that light in her life.

Marie, Rachael and Rocket.

“I am the happiest I have ever been!” Marie gleefully tells Closer. “I’ve gotten to experience things with them that I never did. I didn’t really have a childhood — my life has not been normal.”

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Marie takes pride in living up to something her mother, Olive, once told her. “She said, ‘You know that you are successful when you can honestly say that you are a happy grandma. That means that your children love you, that you have put family first and that your grandbabies love you,'" Marie recalls. “I can say that I am a happy mother and a happy grandma.”

For more from Marie, including what she likes to do with her grandkids at her kid-friendly home in Utah, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!