Rock icon and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away at 76, once shared a deeply personal pact with wife Sharon Osbourne: if either of them were to develop dementia, they planned to seek assisted suicide through the Swiss organization Dignitas.
The Osbourne family confirmed Ozzy’s death in a statement Tuesday, saying, “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Ozzy, affectionately known as the “Prince of Darkness,” had been battling Parkinson’s disease in the years leading up to his death. He is survived by his wife Sharon and six children. The couple were married on July 4, 1982, in Hawaii.
A Controversial Pact Rooted in Personal Pain
In her 2007 memoir Survivor: My Story – The Next Chapter, Sharon revealed that she and Ozzy had agreed they would travel to Switzerland to end their lives with medical assistance if either of them began to suffer from dementia. Sharon was influenced by her father’s difficult final years with Alzheimer’s, describing how he deteriorated into a nonverbal, immobile state before passing in 2007.
In an interview with The Daily Mirror that same year, Sharon said: “We believe 100 percent in euthanasia… If Ozzy or I ever got Alzheimer’s, that’s it — we’d be off. We gathered the kids around the kitchen table, told them our wishes, and they all agreed.”
She elaborated on how watching her father’s rapid decline impacted her: “My father became a shell — dribbling, wearing a diaper, tied into a wheelchair because he didn’t know he couldn’t walk anymore. I could never put my kids through that.”
Podcast Resurfaces the Discussion
The subject was brought up again during a 2023 episode of The Osbournes Podcast. When son Jack asked if the assisted suicide plan was still in place, Sharon replied, “Mental suffering is enough pain without physical. So if you’ve got mental and physical, see ya.”
Jack joked, “Aren’t we all already suffering?” to which Sharon responded seriously, emphasizing the difference between ordinary hardship and irreversible mental or physical decline.
Ozzy’s Own Words
Ozzy also expressed support for the idea in a 2014 interview, saying, “If I can’t live my life the way I’m living it now — and I don’t mean financially — then that’s it… If I can’t get up and go to the bathroom myself… then I’ve said to Sharon, ‘Just turn the machine off.’”
He added that if he were to suffer a debilitating stroke or become fully dependent on machines, he wouldn’t want to continue living that way. “I’ve made a will. It’s all going to Sharon if I go before her, so ultimately it all goes to the kids,” he said.
The couple’s pact, though controversial, highlights their shared desire to avoid prolonged suffering and maintain dignity in the face of debilitating illness — a decision rooted in love, pain, and hard-earned experience.
