Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne Are Still 'in Love' Despite Drama in 40-Year Marriage: 'We Never Gave Up'

With four kids, grandkids, 11 dogs and two cats, quiet moments are few and far between for Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne these days. So, when it came time to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in July, they opted for a quiet staycation.

"We never left our suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel," Sharon tells PEOPLE from the library of her and Ozzy's $18 million Los Angeles estate. "It was brilliant."

The couple first met 52 years ago, when Sharon's father, Don Arden, was managing Ozzy's band Black Sabbath. When Ozzy, 73, was fired from the band over his substance abuse issues in 1979, he spent three months holed up in a hotel room getting drunk and high before Sharon, 69, helped him get back on his feet.

After becoming his new manager, Sharon encouraged Ozzy to pursue a solo career. His 1980 debut single "Crazy Train" took off, and it remains Ozzy's most-played song, with nearly 400 million streams on Spotify to date.

Though Ozzy continued to struggle with substance abuse, Ozzy and Sharon's professional relationship turned romantic. Shortly after his 1982 divorce from Thelma Riley (with whom he shares two kids, Jessica and Louis, as well as her son Elliot), Ozzy and Sharon got married and welcomed their three kids: Aimee, 39, Kelly, 37, and Jack, 36.

"When we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, I said to Sharon, 'Where did the years go?'" Ozzy recalls. "It's just ridiculous. I mean, 40 years is amazing. It shouldn't have lasted this long."

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Shayan Asgharnia Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

It hasn't always been a smooth ride. In 1989, Ozzy was arrested for attempted murder after lunging at Sharon and trying to strangle her while under the influence.

"I wasn't exactly Mr. Prince Charming when I drank booze," he says.

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The couple then split briefly in 2016 after Sharon learned Ozzy had been unfaithful. Later that year, Sharon — who will tell her life story in a documentary titled To Hell and Back (premiering Sept. 26 on FOX Nation) — forgave her husband publicly while hosting an episode of The Talk.

"We never gave up on each other," she says. "I mean, I wasn't a saint. Ozzy wasn't a saint. I gave him as good as he gave me. We're just meant to be."

"Also, you have to realize that you can't change anyone," she adds. "At the beginning, you go, 'After he's been with me a while, he'll change. He'll calm down.' You can't change anyone, so a lot of it is acceptance."

As Ozzy puts it: "You have rows, you fall out, you get back on the horse and carry on."

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Ozzy's health struggles in recent years have been tougher to navigate. In 2019, he had surgery that "really messed me up" after a fall during a nighttime trip to the bathroom aggravated damage to his neck and back from an ATV accident 16 years before. Since then, he's undergone two more procedures, the latest in July.

"It's been a nightmare," says Ozzy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after his fall and now uses a cane and struggles with his speech as a result of the condition.

Through his health struggles, Ozzy — who does physical therapy and has been sober since 2013 — and Sharon were only brought closer together.

"She has been the best," Ozzy says. "My whole family has been so good."

Shayan Asgharnia Ozzy Osbourne

Just as Sharon has been there for Ozzy, he has been there for her through her own difficult chapters, including a colon cancer diagnosis in 2002 and, more recently, her drama with The Talk.

While hosting the show in 2021, Sharon — who is now in remission from her cancer — came under fire for her defense of pal Piers Morgan's controversial comments regarding Meghan Markle's mental health. Adding fuel to the fire, a report alleged that Sharon used racist and homophobic slurs and bullied her talk show cohosts. She denied the claims but ultimately parted ways with the show.

"We all got behind Sharon because we know she's not racist," Ozzy says, as Sharon adds: "I'm not sorry for a damn thing."

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Now proud grandparents, Ozzy and Sharon count family as their greatest blessing. Their son Jack has daughters Pearl, 10, Andy, 7, and Minnie, 4, with his ex-wife Lisa Stelly, and his fourth, Maple, with his fiancée Aree Gearhart, arrived two months ago. Kelly will soon welcome her first child with partner Sid Wilson of Slipknot.

"It fascinates me that every time I see the girls, they've learnt something else," Ozzy says. "They're adorable."

Asked his proudest moment, Ozzy says it's "having a marriage that lasted."

"I used to think love was sex, and it's not," he says. "I believe you only have one real love in your life. I'm still in love with my wife. That's the main thing."

For all the details on Ozzy Osbourne's health struggles and life now, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.