In the mood to give back. Donnie Wahlberg started the new year right, giving his server at IHOP a $2,020 tip to commemorate the beginning of 2020.
“@DonnieWahlberg starting 2020 off like the amazing man he is,” wife Jenny McCarthy captioned a Twitter photo of their receipt on Wednesday, January 1. “#ihop #2020tipchallenge.”
Walberg, 50, and McCarthy, 47, dined at the St. Charles, Illinois, IHOP. Their bill initially totaled $78.45 before the Blue Bloods star added the gratuity. He also personally thanked their server, Bethany, and wished her well in a handwritten note on the receipt. “Happy New Year,” he wrote. “2020 tip challenge.”
. @DonnieWahlberg starting 2020 off like the amazing man he is. #ihop #2020tipchallenge
🥰 pic.twitter.com/AjAEN0hqL6— Jenny McC-Wahlberg (@JennyMcCarthy) January 1, 2020
The New Kids on the Block member made a similar gesture in July 2017, when he left a $2,000 tip for his servers at a Waffle House location in Charlotte, North Carolina. He explained his reasoning via Instagram at the time. “My mom waited tables, and my dad tended bars– for years!” he noted. “So, when I walk into a #WaffleHouse, and the staff treats me like a king, you better believe I treat them like queens! Thanks to the team at @wafflehouseofficial Charlotte, NC!”
One month earlier, the actor left a $500 tip at another Waffle House. “Great crew at @WaffleHouse in Edgewater, MD!” he tweeted. “Thanks for the awesome service! Night made! #WaffleHouse.”
Wahlberg and McCarthy, who tied the knot in August 2014, celebrated New Year’s Eve with a series of cuddly selfies. “Sending love and light to all our friends and familia on this warm and toasty #NewYearsEve!” he gushed on Instagram on Tuesday, December 31. “#happynewyear #2020 #BHLove #loveeternal #family.”
The Jenny McCarthy Show host, for her part, kept her message simple yet sweet. “Happy New Year everyone!!” she shared. “I hope your 2020 is amazing!!”
McCarthy opened up exclusively to Us Weekly in September 2019 about renewing her vows with Wahlberg annually. “We do it every year. And people go, ‘Why?’ And we go, ‘Why not?’ Because it’s just something we always want,” she said. “He surprised me this year with our minister. But we always do it! And it’s so nice to take that moment when you’re so busy to remember those words that you say to each other and the vows and the promises. Not that we need it, but it’s nice to do.”
