Josh Duhamel, 53, reveals moment he knew he was 'too old' for his wife
Shotgun Wedding star Josh Duhamel has reflected on the harsh realisation that he's 'too old' for wife Audra Mari.
Following his divorce from Black Eyed Peas singer Stacy Ann Ferguson (or 'Fergie') in 2019, Duhamel found love with the former Miss World America and now shares a son and a daughter with her.
Appearing on a recent episode of The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler podcast, the 53-year-old got chatting about their 21-year age gap, which mirrors the difference between Duhamel and his younger sister Kassidy.
"Kassidy came along... and I was playing football at Minot State University. Go Beavers! Warming up on the sideline," he began.
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"And I remember looking up at the stands, and I see my mum and [she] has this bump. And I'm like, 'What the — Is my mum pregnant?'... I was 21 years old and she's having another baby. And I was like, 'Oh my God, you gotta be kidding me!' So, now we love it."
Further along, Duhamel explained how there's a snapshot of him from this period in his life where he's cradling 'little bitty infant' Kassidy.
"I looked at the photo and I looked at my wife, and I said, 'You know, you and Kassidy are exactly the same age.' Is that a highlight or a lowlight? I'm not sure," he added.
The actor then apparently told his wife: "Ooof, I am officially too old for you!"
Duhamel went on to say: "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.'"
He previously revealed that he 'slid' into Mari's DMs after seeing her achievements online, before inviting her over for a BBQ and the rest, well, is history.
This comes after Mari, 32, herself told Graham Bensinger that their age gap only crept into conversation when they were discussing the possibility of starting their own family.
"I will say, the age thing doesn't normally come into conversation, but it definitely does when speaking of having babies," she said.
"I really do believe he would have five more kids if he was even 40 right now. It's probably true. We'll definitely have a few though. Hopefully, God willing."
As for his previous high-profile marriage, Duhamel spoke about the realities of hooking up with Fergie earlier this year while stopping by The Megyn Kelly Show.
"It was a huge shift [in my life] because she was a massive star at the time and so it was a big adjustment for me, if I'm being honest," the Transformers star recalled.
"But, you know, Fergie is a very normal person, at the end of the day. A good mum. We have a great relationship. She and my wife actually get along great."
Duhamel also insinuated that Fergie's megastardom 'probably' dented his own ego, in that he felt in the shadows 'a lot of the time'.
What celebrity age-gap couples have said about their relationships
Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor
Age gap: 32 years
Sarah Paulson, 51, and Holland Taylor, 83, first crossed paths in 2005, but didn’t start dating until Taylor slid into Paulson’s Twitter DMs a decade later.
Addressing the media reaction to her relationship in an interview with The Guardian in 2020, Paulson said: “I think people are fascinated by it, because it’s so not typical. Except for if you look around at plenty of well-known or recognisable couples, when they’re heterosexual couples, it just runs rampant, and I don’t see anybody becoming obsessed by those relationships.”
Speaking about the age gap, the American Horror Story star told El País last year: “For many, our age difference is very disconcerting. That’s why I like to represent something so positive and unconventional, because living by predetermined social norms is boring, and why would you follow a path that isn’t yours?
“So yes, I like to represent something so positive. And at the same time, my relationship belongs to me.”
Cher and Alexander Edwards
Age gap: 40 years
Cher, 80, and Alexander ‘AE’ Edwards, 40, met at Paris Fashion Week in September 2022, with the ‘Believe’ singer confirming their romance on social media just months later.
While Cher has insisted that age isn’t an issue, she previously explained that sometimes AE ‘has no idea who I’m talking about’.
She told Extra in 2023: “The other day, I said: ‘Do you know who, I don’t know, Clark Gable, [is]?’ [He] said: ‘Yes, of course,’ but most of my references… He’ll look at me and go: ‘I wasn’t born yet.’”
Nonetheless, during an appearance on CBS Mornings in November 2025, the 79-year-old revealed that the pair ‘laugh all the time’.
“I just love him,” Cher said of her beau, and when asked what message she had for people critical of their relationship, she bluntly said 'whatever'.
She added: “They’re not living my life. Nobody knows what goes on between us, but we just have a blast.”
Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver
Age gap: 46 years
Legendary actor and centenarian Dick Van Dyke, and his wife, Arlene Silver, 54, met at the 2006 SAG Awards, where Silver was working as a make-up artist.
They tied the knot in 2012 and appear to have been going from strength to strength ever since.
Opening up about their age gap, Van Dyke told People last year: “We thought it might be [a problem] in some regard, to some extent, but it hasn't really.
“I'm infantile to start with. I think I'm about 13, so that's been a problem and she's quite mature for her age, so I don't think we haven't had any problem with age at all.”
In a previous interview with the outlet, the Mary Poppins star claimed that ‘everybody said it wouldn't work’.
Silver chimed in: “Yeah. I mean it's like eerie how well it works. People the same age don't last.”
Topics: Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, TV and Film
Dan Seddon