When The Osbournes made its premiere on MTV in March 2002, those who were familiar with the famous clan were well aware that there was one family member who was noticeably absent from their ever-so-popular reality show - Aimee Osbourne.
There were all sorts of rumors being made up as to why the then-teenager didn’t make an appearance on the show, which, unless you listened to heavy metal, had turned the family into household names across the globe. The world might've been familiar with Sharon and Ozzy, but after the show, they came to know their kids, Kelly and Jack, as well.
After a 52-episode run, which consisted of four seasons, The Osbournes came to an end in 2005, which is when the family became much more open on what actually happened with Aimee, who was rumored at the time to have left the family home in her teens to avoid any involvement on reality TV. Here's the lowdown...
Did Aimee Osbourne Move Out At 16?
According to her mother Sharon Osbourne, that’s exactly what happened. Aimee was uncomfortable with the idea of having an entire production crew stay for weeks on end to film her and her family doing their day-to-day activities, but the lack of privacy was a big issue for the teenager.
She came to an agreement with her parents that allowed her to move out at 16 because there was no other way she would have been able to live under the same roof and avoid the chances of running into MTV’s camera crew on any given occasion.
Sharon recalled the heartbreaking moment her daughter decided to leave the family’s home, calling it one of her biggest regrets in life.
“I know that my eldest girl, Aimee, left home at 16 and she couldn’t live in our house because we were filming and it drove her insane,” Osbourne told her co-hosts on The Talk.
“She felt, too, that she didn’t want to grow up on camera. She hated the idea, it was appalling to her. And so she left at 16 and I regret every day that she did.”
What Has Aimee Osbourne Said About Ditching The Show?
Looking back at the moment she decided distancing herself from her family while they film their reality show wasn’t easy for Aimee, but in an interview with NYLON magazine, she explained why it was important for her to have a normal upbringing.
Being bombarded with questions about her personal life from viewers wasn’t something Aimee would ever get used to, adding that to make such an important decision as a teenager was hard, but she has no regrets about pulling away not just from the show but also her family.
"I think, you know, when people say, 'Why the choice?' it didn’t even feel like, 'Should I or shouldn’t I?' It was just not my aspiration.”
"Everywhere you went people wanted to know everything, and that when you’re growing up that can be kind of intimidating," she explained. "The idea of kind of letting it all out there at that point, at around fifteen... Nobody at fifteen wants anybody to see how goofy their parents are.”
In a 2015 interview with The Independent, it appeared that moving out of the Osbourne household ended up affecting Aimee’s relationship with her siblings, Jack and Kelly Osbourne, who she admitted to no longer being close with.
“I wouldn't say there is an ease between us, but there is an acceptance,” she told the news outlet. “Do we socialize? No.”
In recent years, the 36-year-old has focused her attention on her solo music career, and though she doesn’t carry much of a social media presence (to nobody’s surprise), Aimee has been sharing a string of music videos - some of which have gained her millions of views on YouTube.
Under the stage name ARO, she released the song Raining Gold in 2015, followed by I Can Change and Cocaine Style. An album was expected to drop by the year’s end but the project was halted for unknown reasons with no official explanation for the delayed-release.
In her candid conversation with NYLON magazine, Aimee had opened up about the process of working on her first studio record by calling it spooky yet sweet in comparison to the songs she had already put out at the time.
"The rest of the album is still very much kind of cinematic, haunting, and atmospheric feel. Some of the songs are a little heavier; some of the songs are bit more sweet, but still kind of spooky in a way.”
Aimee still shares a tight bond with her parents, but from what she's already shared, she's not that close with Jack and Kelly.