Finally saying “I do.” Tom Payne and Jennifer Åkerman tied the knot before ringing in 2021, but the wedding wasn’t at all what they expected.
“I got married on my birthday on the 21st of December,” the Prodigal Son star, 38, said during the Tuesday, January 12, episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan. “We finished shooting before Christmas and Jennifer was just like, ‘Let’s just do it.’ We delayed it from April because we were going to have 150 people and all this kind of stuff. Obviously, that fell by the wayside.”
Payne and the singer, 31, began dating in 2013 and got engaged in 2018. However, they didn’t want to wait any longer to get married so they just did it at home.
“We got married in front of our fireplace in our house by our contractor. We had our contractor ordained,” the Walking Dead alum told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, adding that it ended up being a good thing there wasn’t a crowd. “By the way, there’s no way we could have done it in front of 150 people. Jennifer couldn’t say her vows, I had to say it. She gave me the piece of paper.”
The model shared the news of the wedding on December 22, posting a polaroid of the pair. “Last night me and the love of my life got married,” the Sweden native. “After having to cancel our wedding back in April and not knowing how long the world will be under lockdown, we felt like we still wanted to end this year as husband and wife, so we did. I love you so much @thetpayne and I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with you xxxx.”
He confirmed the news on December 31, sharing a selfie of the couple hugging. “Happy New Year from Mr and Mrs Payne,” he wrote, adding a diamond ring emoji.
In April 2020, the U.K. native celebrated what would have been their wedding day. “Today there was going to be a wedding in New York. One of many I’m sure. Out of all the things that have changed a wedding is something that can wait,” the MindGamers actor wrote via Instagram next to a pic of the duo. “We have each other and that is more than enough. Love to everyone out there. Love is all we have. It’s enough for me.”
