With the second season of Ransom Canyon now streaming on Netflix, Josh Duhamel is back as Texas rancher Staten Kirkland. Away from the Western drama, the actor has been married to former pageant winner Audra Mari since 2022.
Mari had already established a public career before she and Duhamel began dating.
The North Dakota native competed nationally as a teenager, became Miss North Dakota USA and later represented the United States at Miss World.
The couple’s relationship began after Duhamel contacted Mari through social media. Their shared North Dakota roots and love of lake life helped bridge an age difference that initially made the actor doubt a romance would develop.
Audra Mari Built a Career Through Pageants and Television
Mari represented North Dakota at Miss Teen USA in 2011 and finished as first runner-up. She returned to national competition after winning Miss North Dakota USA in 2014, again placing first runner-up at Miss USA. Her biggest title came in July 2016, when she was crowned Miss World America. Mari represented the United States at Miss World later that year and finished sixth overall.
The competition also named her Miss World Americas as the highest-ranking contestant from the region. Her pageant career gave her a national profile years before her relationship with Duhamel became public. Mari, who studied public relations and communications at North Dakota State University, later worked as a model and television host.
Josh Duhamel Contacted Her Through Social Media
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Duhamel explained during a 2023 appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark that he first contacted Mari through a direct message after becoming aware of her pageant success.
He invited her to a barbecue, where he was immediately attracted to her but questioned whether a relationship was realistic because of their 21-year age difference. “I invited her over to a BBQ one weekend, and she came, and I was like, ‘Wow, you’re beautiful,’” he recalled. “We started dating, and you know, here we are.”
The couple was publicly linked in 2019. He proposed in January 2022 during a beach walk, arranging for Mari to discover a handwritten message inside a bottle that appeared to have washed ashore.
Duhamel Nearly Missed Their Wedding After Injuring His Back
Mari and Duhamel married on Sept. 10, 2022, in Fargo, North Dakota. Their wedding celebrations included the Jasper Hotel, keeping the event closely connected to the state where both were raised.
Duhamel nearly missed the ceremony after injuring his back while celebrating on a party bus the previous night. He later said he tried to hang from the vehicle’s rafters and threw out his back.
The pain became severe enough that he visited an emergency room shortly before the wedding and received medication. Duhamel described the situation as “touch and go” until approximately an hour before he was due to walk down the aisle.
They Now Share Two Children
Mari and Duhamel welcomed their son, Shepherd Lawrence, on Jan. 11, 2024. Duhamel later praised Mari as both a mother to Shepherd and a stepmother to Axl.
The couple announced the arrival of their daughter, Rocca de Leon Duhamel, in May 2026. She is Duhamel’s third child and his second with Mari.
Duhamel has said Mari’s relationship with Axl helped create the blended family he wanted, describing her as an important and supportive presence in his oldest son’s life.