Though Marie Osmond is an incredibly accomplished singer with a decades-long career in music, the 59 year-old mother of eight says that her children are her greatest accomplishment in life. This past week, Marie spoke out to reveal the ultimatum her children gave her that changed her life forever.

“They’re so sweet. How many 16-year-olds tell you they love you?” Marie said. “It’s hard when you have to work – I was the provider, so for my children to understand that and love me and care enough about me to say, ‘Mom, you’re going to die, we need you. Please lose the weight.’ They went through a lot of tough stuff. They’re survivors. They are the best things I’ve ever done, ever.”

The ultimatum from her children came back in 2007 after Marie fainted during a live show while appearing on “Dancing With The Stars.” She then lost 50 pounds on NutriSystem, which she opened up about on the diet plan’s website:

“Nutrisystem got me back on track. I’ve got to be honest. I was overweight and out of shape. I didn’t feel good. I was tired. My joints ached. My confidence was down. Like so many of you, I was unhappy about how I looked and how I felt. I knew I was getting older but I didn’t want to feel older. Plus, talk about stress. Here I am, a single mom managing a career. It was very easy to put on a few pounds here and a few pounds there. Sometimes life just gets you off track and before you know it, you’re 50 pounds heavier. Well, Nutrisystem got me back on track.”

Marie is most proud of how “hard working” her family is.

“They’re all really hard workers and they are kind to each other and try really hard to be kind to people,” she said of her children. “Some of my kids are adopted and I can’t remember which ones, but some of them are more like me than my biological and I’m like, ‘I know why God sent you to me!'”

We’re so glad to see that Marie is happy and healthy thanks to her beloved family!