After eight years of marriage, Josh Duhamel and Fergie split in 2017. However, their separation wasn’t due to reasons fans expected.
In Duhamel’s candid interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, the Shotgun Wedding actor said he was “grateful” for his success in Hollywood. However, he confessed that his time in the spotlight with Fergie was “a lot” to handle.
“I don’t think I ever really got comfortable with all of it,” Duhamel revealed, referring to being in the limelight with the Black Eyed Peas lead, 48.
He continued, “I just missed the simplicity of who I really am, you know? … I’m just not a guy who is comfortable going to red carpets. Doing all the Hollywood stuff.”
While Duhamel, 50, insisted he was grateful for the life Hollywood provided him, he explained that Fergie’s glamourous California lifestyle was “a lot” to handle.
“Hollywood and L.A. and that whole lifestyle can suck the soul out of you if you’re not careful,” he told Bensinger. “It just took me a long time to really feel like I belong, like I fit in.”
Duhamel noted that he and the “Fergalicious” singer have a great relationship nowadays, but they didn’t always see eye to eye. Duhamel, born and raised in North Dakota, valued a slower lifestyle. While Fergie, a California girl at heart, longed to stay in the sunny state.
“I made peace with that part of my life,” he explained. “There wasn’t anything wrong with it. We had a great time. I think we kind of outgrew each other and had very different interests.”
Post-divorce, Duhamel retreated home to North Dakota. He expressed that the simpler lifestyle and rugged outdoors are more suitable for him.
“Having this place out here really allows me to get back to that kid that fell in love with nature,” he said. “I fell in love with the outdoors and being creative and just being active. If I’m there and I get caught up in that world, you start to lose track of who you are. And I don’t think I’ve ever done that, thankfully.”
Duhamel, always knowing he’d move back to North Dakota, recognized that it wasn’t the right life for Fergie. “I’ve got no hard feelings for it. I truly don’t,” he continued. “I’m very lucky that she’s a kind human.”
Josh, now married to Audra Mari, is expecting his first child with the model. He continues to co-parent his son, Axel, with Fergie.
“That’s why Audra’s so great for me,” Josh enthusiastically explained. “We’re both hardcore North Dakotans. We both love lake life.”