Josh Duhamel jokingly recalled a specific moment when he realized his 21-year age gap with wife Audra Mari.
Duhamel, 53, appeared on the Monday, July 13, episode of “The HoneyDew With Ryan Sickler” podcast where he discussed the age gaps between him and his siblings. He specifically brought up how his youngest sister, Cassidy, was born when he was in college.
“Cassidy came along and I was playing football at Minot State University. I remember looking up at the stands and I saw my mom and had this bump,” he shared. “And I’m like, ‘Is my mom pregnant?’ I’m 21 years old and she’s having another baby.”
It wasn’t until recently that Duhamel realized the connection to his wife.
“There’s a picture of me holding Cassidy as a 21-year-old young man with this little bitty infant,” he continued. “I looked at the photo and I looked at my wife and I said, ‘You and Cassidy are exactly the same age.’”
Duhamel quipped: “I am officially too old for you. They’re literally like months apart in age. I never looked at it like that until I saw that photo. I was like, ‘Wait a second.’”
The actor was previously married to Fergie, with whom he shares 13-year-old son Axl. The former couple got married in 2009 and announced their split in 2017. Their divorce was finalized in 2019.
Duhamel subsequently found love with Mari, 32, who he dated for two years before proposing in 2022. They tied the knot that same year.
The Ransom Canyon star exclusively shared details about the spontaneous proposal with Us Weekly in 2022, saying, “I just sort of decided last-minute that was how I wanted to do it. I didn’t have anything planned. I didn’t have a ring yet. I was like, ‘OK, you’re gonna do this today. Today’s the day.’ And that’s just how it all kind of happened. … I coordinated with [the hotel concierge] there to make sure that bottle was floating up to shore as we were walking out there.”
Duhamel also offered a glimpse into his eldest child’s bond with his now-wife. “He is very excited about [our engagement]. That was a big part of it. They get along great. It’s been good,” he told Us. (Duhamel shares 2-year-old son Shepherd and 2-month-old daughter Rocca with Mari.
While reflecting on fatherhood, Duhamel opened up about his parenting approach, telling Us, “I want to make sure that I’m making him get out there and do things, making sure that he knows he’s safe and secure but also can go out and take risks. I also want to be a good role model for him. Because he is watching very closely.”
More recently, Duhamel recalled on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast how his and Mari’s age difference initially kept them from being a couple.
“It was truly platonic for years before that because I was like, ‘No, she’s too young for me. I’m not even going to go there,’” he said in May 2025. “Then, we started DMing back and forth.”
He concluded: “Then, I invited her to a barbecue, still thinking it was totally platonic just as a friend from [North Dakota]. There aren’t many people from there. But she did come, and I saw her and I was like, ‘Holy s***, this girl’s beautiful.’ But then she’s more mature than I am. That’s really how we started dating and it’s been a beautiful thing. We’ve been married now for over two years. She’s an amazing mother.”
