Inside Josh Duhamel & Audra Mari’s Love Story

Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari are parents!

The couple welcomed their first child together, son Shepherd Lawrence Duhamel, in January 2024. Duhamel is already a dad to his son Axl, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Fergie.

The Life As We Know It actor and Mari tied the knot in September 2022 in Fargo, North Dakota, after roughly three years of dating.

“She’s a very sweet girl,” Duhamel told Access‘ Mario Lopez and Kit Hoover. “Very similar interests — we’re from North Dakota. We love lake life. She’s got a cabin not far from mine. We just match. She’s an amazing person.”

From their public displays of affection to their romantic engagement on the beach, here is a complete timeline of Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari’s relationship.

October 2, 2019: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari kiss at the airport

In October 2019, Duhamel and his new lady, Mari, were spotted packing on the PDA at an airport in Toronto. The actor was in Canada to film his Netflix series Jupiter’s Legacy, and the former Miss World America paid him a visit, embracing him outside of a Starbucks upon their reunion.

December 7, 2019: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari attend a party in Los Angeles together

Just two months later, Duhamel and Mari attended a Christmas party together in Los Angeles in December 2019. At the time, a source told PEOPLE that they had been dating for “seven or eight months.”

“They were basically together all night at the party,” an onlooker told PEOPLE. “And she was also with another female friend. He was introducing her to people at the party.”

The event came a few weeks after Duhamel’s divorce with Fergie was finalized.

January 10, 2020: Josh Duhamel says he loves Audra Mari on a sports talk show

The following month, Duhamel spoke about his budding relationship with Mari during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show. When the actor called into the show, he said that he would be attending a Vikings football game that day with Mari and both their fathers. “My dad, my girl and her dad are all going,” he said.

When the show’s host Dan Patrick asked if Duhamel loved Mari more than the Vikings, the actor replied, “Of course I do.”

February 26, 2020: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari hold hands in L.A.

As the couple’s relationship continued to flourish, they were photographed out and about in public again in February 2020. Duhamel and Mari were spotted holding hands on a walk in L.A., each donning casual attire.

May 2021: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari celebrate her niece

Mari is a proud aunt and posts about her nieces on her Instagram often. She and Duhamel attended her niece’s fourth birthday party together in her hometown, Fargo, North Dakota, in May 2021. The former pageant star posted a collection of polaroids from the party on Instagram and tagged Duhamel in a cute selfie of the two of them. In it, the actor was wearing a unicorn crown and held up the number four on his fingers.

September 2021: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari attend a concert together

In September 2021, the couple took a trip back to their home state of North Dakota and attended a concert together along with some of Mari’s friends. Mari shared a series of photos from the night on Instagram, including shots of the group backstage at a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performance and one of her and Duhamel beaming at the camera.

January 8, 2022: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari announce their engagement

The notoriously private couple shared one piece of big news with the world more than two years into their relationship: their engagement!

On Jan. 8, 2022, Duhamel popped the question to Mari on her 28th birthday in the sweetest way. The actor shared the news in a post on Instagram, which received plenty of love including a congratulatory comment from Fergie. The post, which Mari also shared on her Instagram, included a photo of Duhamel and Mari posing with a handwritten note from the actor that read, “Audra Diane Mari Will You Marry Me?”

“It’s on!! She found a message in a bottle that washed ashore and said YES!! @audramari,” Duhamel captioned his post.

A few days later, a source told PEOPLE that Duhamel and Mari had “something special” from the very start.

“He seemed a bit gloomy after his divorce and Audra definitely cheered him up. She came into his life at the perfect time,” the source said. “They live a pretty quiet life in L.A. They often grab dinner in Malibu and walk on the beach. They have friends over for barbecues.”

January 10, 2022: A source tells PEOPLE that Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari want to expand their family

After announcing their engagement, a source told PEOPLE that the former Miss World America would “love to have kids with Josh.”

According to another insider, Duhamel is definitely on the same page and is looking to give his son Axl Jack, whom he shares with Fergie, a sibling. A source told PEOPLE that the Safe Haven star “wants more kids and always has,” adding that Duhamel and Mari will probably “have kids sooner than later.”

“He’s not shy about it, but he’s felt this way since Axl was very young,” the source said. “He loves being a father.”

January 11, 2022: Fergie supports Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari’s relationship

A few days after news of Duhamel and Mari’s engagement broke, a rep for Fergie told PEOPLE that the pop star was “genuinely happy for Josh.” Duhamel and Fergie were married for eight years and remain on good terms as they raise their son together.

“They co-parent really beautifully together and communicate about many things,” the source said. “They both want happiness for the other and cheer each other on still […] There seems to be zero bad blood.”

January 24, 2022: Audra Mari posts a sweet selfie with Josh Duhamel

In a rare social media post about her relationship with the actor, Mari commemorated her beach vacation with Duhamel on Instagram. She shared a photo of a Polaroid of her and Duhamel posing temple-to-temple as they smiled at the camera.

In the caption, she penned a sweet message, writing, “Some Polaroid happiness from the best trip. Thank you ALL for the well wishes and love sent our way.. It truly means the world.. now let’s plan a wedding!”

January 28, 2022: Josh Duhamel shares how he proposed to Audra Mari

At the end of January, Duhamel revealed details about his proposal to Mari during an interview with Mario Lopez and Kit Hoover for Access. The actor told the hosts that while he knew there was a specific sandbar at the beach he wanted to propose on, it wasn’t until they got there that he knew how he would actually execute the proposal.

“Then that morning, it kinda hit me — I was like, ‘You know what? You guys have any empty bottles around here?’ And I went and talked to the concierge,” he said. “So we planned it all out — I was gonna walk her down there as this thing was floating up.”

There was a moment of panic before the proposal when the bottle wasn’t on the sand when they walked up to the sandbar. It took one diversion in the form of a game of cornhole for the bottle to wash up onto the sand so Duhamel could pop the big question to Mari.

February 28, 2022: Josh Duhamel says he always knew Audra Mari was “the one”

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight’s Lauren Zima, Duhamel was asked when he knew that Mari was the one. “Oh, I knew that pretty early on,” he replied.

“She’s an awesome girl, [and] she’s perfect for me,” he said of his fiancée. “We’re both from North Dakota and I think there’s a commonality that we have. She’s great.”

May 4, 2021: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari hold hands after a date night

Duhamel and Mari enjoyed a springtime date night at the celebrity hotspot, Nobu. The couple were photographed holding hands with takeout bags in tow as they left the restaurant in Malibu.

May 19, 2022: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari start wedding planning

During an interview with PEOPLE in May 2022, Duhamel said that he and Mari are in “full prep mode” for the big day. Duhamel shared that while he has been working, his fiancée has taken the reins of wedding planning and that she’s been “really good at it.” He explained, “I’m there to sort of answer questions or if she’s got questions about something.”

While Duhamel said he doesn’t care about most aspects of the wedding, he does have a few requests of his own, adding, “I just want there to be great music, I want to have people around that we love, and I want to be present. I want to make sure that when the night comes, I don’t want to be overcome by the moment. I just want to be present and have a great time.”

September 10, 2022: Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari get married

After a nine-month engagement, the couple wed in Fargo, North Dakota. Duhamel and Mari reportedly tied the knot on the rooftop of the area’s Jasper Hotel. According to TMZ, the newlyweds then went to local tavern Duffy’s for food and drinks.

A source also told PEOPLE that the evening “was lovely” and the couple had “a great time.”

But Duhamel almost didn’t make it down the aisle due to a back injury. During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, The actor explained that he tried to “hang from the rafters inside the party bus” the night before the wedding and threw his back out.

“The one day you have to be able to walk is down that aisle,” he said, “And it was, like, touch and go right up until an hour before the wedding.”

Duhamel attributed getting “shot up” with medication in the emergency room to getting to the altar on time.