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Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari later said they connected through Instagram and met at a barbecue after discovering their shared North Dakota background. Duhamel initially saw the invitation as platonic, but said his perspective changed when Mari arrived.
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari later said they first connected through Instagram before meeting in person at a barbecue at Duhamel’s home. Their shared North Dakota background helped start the conversation, and Duhamel has recalled that his view of Mari changed when she arrived at the gathering.
How Josh Duhamel met Audra Mari
According to Duhamel’s later interviews, he reached out to Mari through Instagram after realizing they had several things in common—including their connection to North Dakota. He invited her to a barbecue at his home, initially viewing the meeting as a friendly get-together with someone from his home state.
That changed when Mari arrived. Duhamel has said that he was struck by how beautiful she was and began seeing the relationship differently. The story was recounted in a 2025 appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, while a similar version was attributed to his 2023 appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark.
The North Dakota connection
The shared background was more than a small biographical detail. Duhamel has described the fact that both he and Mari came from North Dakota as an important commonality. It gave them an immediate point of connection and helped explain why he felt comfortable inviting her to what he initially considered a platonic barbecue.
Mari is a North Dakota native who has worked as a model and television host and previously competed in beauty pageants. Duhamel, who was also raised in North Dakota, had already become a familiar Hollywood actor by the time the pair began getting to know each other.
Why some reports describe a different first meeting
Early coverage did not give exactly the same account. In October 2019, Entertainment Tonight reported that Duhamel and Mari had met through mutual friends. That report appeared when their relationship was first becoming public, whereas the Instagram-and-barbecue story came from Duhamel’s later, more detailed recollections.
The most careful summary is therefore that they later said they connected on Instagram and met at a barbecue, while early reporting described them as meeting through mutual friends. The available accounts do not establish that the earlier version was definitively false.
When did Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari begin dating?
Their relationship became publicly known in 2019. On October 3 of that year, the couple was seen together at Toronto Pearson airport. At the time, a source told Entertainment Tonight that they had been dating casually for several months and were beginning to become more serious.
Duhamel later said he recognized relatively early that Mari could be “the one.” In a February 2022 interview, he again emphasized their shared North Dakota background as one of the qualities that made the relationship meaningful. Their initial platonic dynamic also reflected the circumstances in which they met, including the age-gap discussion surrounding the pair, but the available accounts do not support treating that issue as the sole reason they waited to date.
Their engagement and wedding
Duhamel announced the couple’s engagement in January 2022, after roughly two years of dating. His proposal involved a message in a bottle that washed ashore. The note asked, “Audra Diane Mari, Will you marry me?”
Duhamel and Mari married on September 10, 2022. In a wedding-related account, Mari later said Duhamel had injured his back while making what she described as “wild dance moves” on a party bus the night before the ceremony. He reportedly needed an emergency-room visit and a cortisone shot before the wedding.
From their later telling, the relationship began with a social-media message, a shared North Dakota connection and a barbecue that Duhamel initially considered purely friendly. The couple’s first public sightings came months later, followed by their engagement and 2022 wedding.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Josh Duhamel meet Audra Mari?
According to Duhamel’s later interviews, he and Audra Mari connected through Instagram after discussing their shared North Dakota background. He invited her to a barbecue at his home, initially thinking of the meeting as platonic, but said his impression changed when she arrived.
When did Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari get married?
Their relationship became publicly known in 2019. Duhamel and Mari became engaged in January 2022 and married on September 10, 2022.
Did Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari meet through mutual friends or Instagram?
Early October 2019 coverage from Entertainment Tonight said the pair had met through mutual friends. Later accounts based on Duhamel’s own interviews described an Instagram connection followed by a barbecue, so both versions should be acknowledged.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Duhamel and Mari later said they connected on Instagram and met at a barbecue after bonding over their shared North Dakota roots. Early reports said they met through mutual friends, so the Instagram account is best presented as the couple’s later recollection rather than independently settled fact.
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