Wahlberg embraces his cheesy past

Cindy Ord/Getty Images Donnie Wahlberg shed pounds in time for his Aug. 31 wedding to Jenny McCarthy.  

New Kid On The Block Donnie Wahlberg is a newlywed with two hit TV shows and a shiny new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, yet he still understands the importance of family and American-made cheese.

“We grew up on food stamps, at times on welfare, and we had to go to the regime food line and get free cheese and peanut butter,” Wahlberg told us at “The Say Hello With Keurig 2.0” sweepstakes launch (a coffee-maker event) in the Flatiron District.

“And I’m telling you, that regime cheese, there’s nothing like it. The way it melts. For a hamburger, there’s nothing better.”

Cheeseburgers are only one of the items on the menu at Wahlburgers — a growing restaurant string Donnie owns with his brothers Mark and Paul. The eatery is also the centerpiece of an A&E reality show that earned a 2014 Emmy nomination, and which caused Donnie to gain 25 pounds as a food tester last year.

“I had to take my shirt off to go on tour with the New Kids, so I took (the weight) off quick,” he said.

Wahlberg shed the pounds in time for his Aug. 31 wedding to Jenny McCarthy. Despite rumors that his wife and mother don’t get along, he said that Jenny was a hit with his mom, Alma, from the start.

“I’ve always been a very private person, so when I started dating Jenny, I had to make the adjustment, and my mother said, ‘Relax and have fun,’ ” he recalled. “My mother likes Jenny.”

He says the pair get along so well that they’re collaborating on a book that will be part biography and part cookbook.

Questioned about a report on singer Aaron Carter being beaten by a carful of hoodlums in his native Beantown, a tale that has been making the rounds for the past year, Wahlberg says, “If it’s a right report, I don’t know why he would ever talk about such a thing. And if it’s a fake report, I don’t know why he’d tell such a report.”

Wahlberg concludes, “If (the assailants) were New Kids fans, I think it would’ve been a carful of females getting out and kicking his ass. It could’ve well been.”

Wahlberg suggests Carter give him a call the next time he finds himself in a rough part of Boston.

“He should just call one of the Wahlbergs and we would’ve bailed him out,” he said.

STONES ON AN OCEAN TRIP

Talk about a start me up. Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood, along with fashion designer Rick Owens, top the list of VIPs who’ve helped the Ocean Campaign clean up the world’s waters. Jagger has put Stones tickets and a face-to-face meeting on the block via Charitybuzz.com, while his pals will contribute to a charity gala in January. Rocker offspring James Jagger and Alexandra Richards are listed as host committee members for the nonprofit.

THE KEYS TO A GOOD MARRIAGE

We all know celebrity marriages are about as likely to survive as a vodka soda in Lindsay Lohan’s dressing room. But Alicia Keys thinks she and husband Swizz Beatz have what it takes to last.

“We’re truthful, we’re gentle, and we’re able to communicate well,” the “Fallin’ ” singer, who married Beatz in 2010, says in the October/November issue of Haute Living magazine. “I think that all of that ¬really does make marriage fun and a pleased relationship attainable,” she added.

STRAHAN SAYS HE’S OFTEN UNDER A BLITZ

The hunky Michael Strahan chats with Cigar Aficionado for the November/December issue, saying he misses being able to glide under the radar in public. “One of the most awkward things to me is people yelling out my name in the road,” he says. “I want to be the guy who can walk in and out of a room and you don’t know I’ve been there. I miss being able to sit in a restaurant and not have people try to sneak a photo with their cameras.”

SEEN & HEARD

Jonathan Cheban and DJ Clue at a have fun celebrating the eight-year anniversary of their friend Jonathan Geller’s tech site BGR.com at Avenue. … Emily Kinney from “The Walking Dead” modeled the Nikki Rich spring line, while co-designer Nikki Lund, who makes the outfits with Richie Sambora, has a hit song in the U.K., called “This Is It.” … Yankees adviser Ray Negron celebrating his new WPAT radio program at DaTommaso Restaurant. … Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera reunited at a Brandon Steiner-hosted luncheon at NYY Steak. … Trey Songz giving a bolt from the blue performance for Fader magazine and Vitaminwater.

GIVING AVIVA THE ‘BOOT’

Gina Rodriguez, the administrator who plans to sue “Real Housewives of New York” star Aviva Drescher for not paying her a 10% agent fee after casting Drescher on “Marriage Boot Camp,” is fighting back against the reality star’s claim she wasn’t a good agent. “There were over 50 emails and numerous calls between her, (Drescher’s husband) Reid and my staff over the contract,” Rodriguez tells Confidenti@l. “They were well attentive of all the details of the show. I had other talent I booked on the show as well and they were completely pleased. They called us during filming and wanted us to get them more money or they were not paying me, which is not possible after a deal is signed by them and the network.”

Rodriguez says she will file a suit for defamation as well as for money owed. Drescher had told us Rodriguez is in the incorrect, for failing to tell her how long filming would take and locking her in at only $ 100,000 for the 16 days of shooting she did in Los Angeles.

Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images for Paramount Pictu Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson takes selfie with fan in China.

CHINA LOOKS READY TO ROCK

Doing his part to improve U.S. relations with China, Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson puts on his widest smile at the premiere of “Hercules” in Beijing. “Every year only 34 movies are allowed into China,” Johnson tweeted. “Truly an honor to be here and give back the like I’ve received from this incredible country over the years.”

SCOTTO ON HONOR ROLE

Rosanna Scotto will host the 29th annual gala of the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund. On Thursday, the “Excellent Day New York” host will help honor families of New York’s Most courageous and Finest as they’re recognized for their sacrifices. Amanda Lupo, granddaughter of fallen NYPD Officer Thomas Schimenti, will perform the national anthem at the Waldorf Astoria gathering, which also will feature bagpipers and a color guard of the NYPD, FDNY and Port Authority Police.

RENNER’S OUTLOOK IS SONNI

The best way to find out if Jeremy Renner got married is simply to question him. “Oh my God, someone finally questioned,” Renner said at the “Kill the Messenger” premiere at the Museum of Modern Art, after we inquired about newlywed life. The bolt from the blue wedding to model Sonni Pacheco, mother of his daughter Ava, was kept under wraps because no one inquired, he says. “Look at this face,” he told us. “People were worried of this face for whatever reason, I don’t know why.”

Splash News/Splash News Kate Mara and her stylist Johnny Wujek.

MARA’S LEADING MAN

So long, Shia. After getting “cozy” with her “Man Down” co-star Shia LaBeouf last week, when the two stood arm in arm at Disneyland, Kate Mara is getting accurate to another guy in New York. Alas, it’s just her stylist, Johnny Wujek. After breaking up with longtime boyfriend Max Minghella, her like life remains a mystery.

ALL ROADS LEAD SJP TO SHOPPING

Sarah Jessica Parker was blemished scouting for vintage treasures at the flea market on Via Sannio in Rome on Friday. Clad in a chic all-black ensemble, including a Blaque Mark pleated skirt, SJP braved the cobblestone streets in heels, checking out secondhand floral dresses and a pair of white shoes.