Who Is Josh Duhamel’s Wife? All About Former Pageant Queen Audra Mari
Who Is Josh Duhamel’s Wife? All About Former Pageant Queen Audra Mari
Samantha Stutsman, Nicholas RiceTue, March 3, 2026 at 7:09 PM UTC
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Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari attend the "Buddy Games 2" premiere in 2023.Credit: Arnold Jerocki/WireImage -
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari wed in September 2022
They welcomed their first child together, son Shepherd, in January 2024
Mari is a former pageant queen
Josh Duhamel fell in love with a fellow North Dakotan.
The Ransom Canyon actor and former Miss North Dakota USA Audra Mari got married in September 2022 in Fargo, N.D., after roughly three years of dating.
"She's a very sweet girl," Duhamel told Access' Mario Lopez and Kit Hoover shortly after the couple got engaged in January 2022. "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."
In January 2024, Duhamel and Mari welcomed their first child together, son Shepherd Lawrence. The Transformers alum is also a dad to son Axl, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Fergie.
So, who is Josh Duhamel's wife? Here's everything to know about Audra Mari and her relationship with the actor.
She’s a former beauty pageant contestant
Audra Mari at the Miss World 2016 pageant.Credit: Zach Gibson/AFP via Getty
In 2014, Mari won the Miss North Dakota USA title. Later that year, she placed second at the Miss USA competition.
Mari was crowned Miss World America in 2016 and went on to represent the United States at Miss World, where she finished sixth overall.
She and Josh Duhamel met via social media
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari attend the premiere of "Bandit" in 2022.Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
During a September 2023 appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark, Duhamel shared that he first connected with Mari by sliding into her DMs after she’d “won some pageants and stuff” in North Dakota.
“I invited her over to a BBQ one weekend, and she came, and I was like, ‘Wow, you’re beautiful,’ ” he told the hosts, admitting he wasn’t sure a romance was possible given their 20-plus-year age gap.
He continued, “We started dating and, you know, here we are, five years later, with a baby on the way. She’s a pretty amazing girl, she really is."
They got engaged in January 2022
Audra Mari and Josh Duhamel attend the premiere of "Shotgun Wedding" in 2023.Credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Duhamel proposed to Mari in January 2022 with a message in a bottle that washed ashore while they were walking on the beach.
Speaking to Access hosts Lopez and Hoover, the actor said he knew he wanted to propose on a sandbar, but didn’t figure out the details until that morning. After tracking down an empty bottle with the help of the concierge, he arranged for it to float in as they walked along the shore.
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There was a brief moment of panic when the bottle didn’t appear right away, but after a quick diversion, it finally washed up — and Mari discovered the handwritten note inside asking her to marry him.
Duhamel later shared the news on Instagram alongside a photo of the couple holding the note, captioning the post, “It’s on!! She found a message in a bottle that washed ashore and said YES!!"
The post received plenty of love, including a congratulatory comment from his ex-wife, Fergie.
She married Duhamel in September 2022
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari in 2023.Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Following a brief engagement, the couple tied the knot in North Dakota on Sept. 10, 2022, exchanging vows on the rooftop of the Jasper Hotel.
But Duhamel nearly missed his walk down the aisle. During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, he revealed that he threw out his back the night before the wedding after attempting to “hang from the rafters inside the party bus.”
“The one day you have to be able to walk is down that aisle,” he said, adding that it was “touch and go right up until an hour before the wedding.”
A trip to the emergency room — where he was “shot up” with medication — ultimately got him to the altar on time.
They share a son
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari with their son, Shepherd.Credit: Josh Duhamel/Instagram
Mari gave birth to the couple's first child, son Shepherd Lawrence Duhamel, on Jan. 11, 2024.
A few months later, Duhamel gave his wife a sweet shout-out on his Instagram Stories in honor of her first Mother's Day.
"What an amazing mommy you are to our baby Shepherd, and Axl couldn't ask for a better stepmother," he wrote. "We're beyond blessed to have you in our lives."
When the family isn't in Los Angeles or New Mexico, where Duhamel films Ransom Canyon, they spend their spare time at a remote cabin the actor built in the Minnesota woods.
“It’s removed from everything,” Duhamel told Parade in April 2025. “The closest store is 40 miles away. Once we get there, it’s really about everybody taking care of each other — making memories, spending time with family and friends. You really get a chance to get back to the basics."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
