Josh Duhamel’s wife, Audra Mari, has given birth to their first baby together.
“Shepherd Lawrence Duhamel 1/11/24 🤍,” the pair wrote in a Tuesday, January 16, joint Instagram post alongside a black and white photo of the infant’s feet.
Duhamel, 51, and Mari, 30, announced her pregnancy in September 2023. “Baby Duhamel coming soon 🤍,” they captioned a joint Instagram post of an ultrasound.
The couple confirmed their engagement in January 2022 after two years of dating and tied the knot in September 2022.
Duhamel is already the father of son Axl, whom he shares with ex-wife Fergie. The pair married in January 2009 and welcomed Axl in August 2013, but they announced their separation in September 2017, finalizing their divorce two years later.
Amid Mari’s pregnancy, Duhamel shared on Live With Kelly and Mark that his son was “very excited” to have his first sibling. “I don’t think he quite understands that it’s actually real,” he explained in September 2023. “He will once he sees this little thing in front of him. I think I’m probably the same.”
Duhamel added that becoming a big brother would “be good for” Axl “because he’s been an only child up to this point.”
“Now he’s going to have some responsibility,” he elaborated. “He’s excited. He’s going to be a great older brother, too. He’s a really sweet-natured kid who loves babies, so I think this is kind of perfect.”
Duhamel declined to reveal the name that he and Mari had picked out for their little one at the time, but he vetoed one suggestion from Axl. “He likes Gary. He wants to name the baby Gary,” he said. “I think if we have a dog, we’ll name it Gary.”
As for Fergie’s reaction to her ex-husband’s growing family, she sent well-wishes via Instagram. “I am truly happy for you guys,” she commented on their pregnancy announcement post. “Axl can’t wait to be a big brother.”
Later that month, Duhamel opened up about the dynamic between Fergie and Mari. “Thankfully Fergie’s an amazing woman, she really is,” he said on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show. “She’s taken Audra in. It could be much worse. That’s the thing, you never know how these things are going to go.”
He continued: “Because she’s such a kind-hearted person, she really, truly is, she only has love for Audra. I can’t believe how excited she is for us. It could be a lot worse. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. And thankfully, we have a really civil situation.”
Duhamel also hinted at his and Mari’s plans for baby No. 2 at the time. “I get to do this again and hopefully again after that,” he noted. “Axl’s going to be a great older brother. Audra’s going to be a great mother, [I’m] very blessed. … I’m jumping back in at this ripe old age. I’m doing it. To me, that’s what it’s about. I’m meant to be a dad.”
