Josh Duhamel and ex Fergie’s friendly coparenting relationship extends to his pregnant wife, Audra Mari.
“Thankfully Fergie’s an amazing woman, she really is,” Duhamel, 50, gushed during the Thursday, September 14, episode of 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.”
The actor added: “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.”
Fergie, 48, and Duhamel got married in January 2009, and welcomed son Axl Jack, now 10, in August 2013. The “Big Girls Don’t Cry” singer and Duhamel split in September 2017, finalizing their divorce two years later. They opted to share custody of their son and have remained cordial coparents.
“My parents never figured it out,” Duhamel told Fatherly in a January interview about their arrangement. “And who it hurt was us [kids]. Not to bag on my parents, because they’re civil now, but they don’t go out of their way to talk to each other. I’m like, ‘It’s been 40 years. Get your s—t together.’ But they don’t have the tools. And I’m OK with that.”
Duhamel further explained that Fergie (real name Stacy Ferguson) was particularly “adamant” about continuing to raise their son in a civil way despite their split.
Following his divorce, Duhamel found love with Mari, 29, proposing in January 2022 after two years of dating.
“[Axl] is very excited about [our engagement],” Duhamel exclusively told Us Weekly after he popped the question. “That was a big part of it. They get along great. It’s been good.”
Duhamel and Mari announced on Monday, September 11 — one year after their wedding — that they are expecting their first baby together. Fergie, for her part, sweetly reacted to the news.
“I am truly happy for you guys. Axl can’t wait to be a big brother,” Fergie wrote in the comments section of the couple’s Instagram reveal.
Duhamel is also looking forward to having another baby around the house. “I get to do this again and hopefully again after that,” he told Jess Cagle on Thursday, teasing that he and Mari are already thinking about expanding their family further. “Axl’s going to be a great older brother. Audra’s going to be a great mother, [I’m] very blessed.”
Duhamel added: “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.”
