Former Black Eyed Peas member Fergie and her ex-husband, Josh Duhamel, have had a long and storied past. Though the two seem to be peacefully co-parenting their son, there have been rumors for years that things are not nearly as amicable between them as they would appear. We dug into the former spouses’ past, as well as rumors about their present to figure out just where the famous exes’ relationship stands today.
When Did They Get Married?
Fergie, born Stacy Ann Ferguson, first met Josh Duhamel on the set of Las Vegas, in which Duhamel starred when the Black Eyed Peas guest-starred in 2004. The two really hit it off and by 2007, Fergie and Duhamel announced their engagement. Two years later, Duhamel and Fergie exchanged vows on January 10, 2009. About nine months later, the couple weathered their first storm together after Duhamel was accused of infidelity.
An exotic dancer named Nicole Forrester claimed she’d had a one-night stand with the actor after he’d come to the establishment where she worked. Both Fergie and Duhamel adamantly denied the allegations of an affair, with Duhamel’s rep telling People, “This is not the first, nor will it be the last, time that a stripper was paid a large amount of money to sell a false story about a celebrity. This story is absolutely ridiculous.”
Fergie’s rep also denied the allegations, flatly stating, “These allegations are nonsense.” The couple pulled past the scandal seemingly stronger than ever, with Fergie later telling Oprah Winfrey during an appearance on OWN’s Oprah’s Next Chapter, “When you go through difficult times, it really makes you stronger as a unit, as a partnership,” adding, “It does for us anyways. Our love today is a deeper love.”
Fergie later told Winfrey, “Definitely we’re strong today because of anything difficult that’s happened with us. We deal with it. We communicate. Communicating is the most important thing.” A few years after the scandal blew over, in 2013, Duhamel and Fergie welcomed their son, Axl Duhamel.
Why Did Fergie And Josh Duhamel Get Divorced?
Over the next few years, the two seemed to have the perfect little family, but in 2017, the two announced their divorce in a joint statement. The statement read, via E! Online, “With absolute love and respect we decided to separate as a couple earlier this year. To give our family the best opportunity to adjust, we wanted to keep this a private matter before sharing it with the public. We are and will always be united in our support of each other and our family.” Sources at the time insisted that there was no drama behind the split. “They completely grew apart,” one source told E! Online. “This was a long time coming and they’ve been trying to sort everything out this past year.”
Another source confirmed that the two weren’t at odds with each other, telling the outlet, “There wasn’t one big fight or final straw. They have a lot of love for each other and for each other’s families and there’s no bad blood.”
At the heart of the matter was the couple’s son, and both parties seemed to be willing to focus their efforts in that direction. A third source told the site, “Fergie still has the most respect for Josh and they will continue to have a healthy relationship while co-parenting.” Though the divorce took two years to finalize before finally reaching its conclusion in November 2019, both Fergie and Josh Duhamel seem to be yet another model divorced couple who’ve come together for the good of their son.
What’s Going On With Them Now?
Seeing as how they grew apart, it’s no surprise that Fergie and Josh Duhamel have different focuses moving forward. Fergie has continued to focus on her career and her son, while Duhamel wants to grow his family. Duhamel revealed during a visit to Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, that he was looking for a woman who was still young enough to have kids.
“I’m not 30 years old anymore. I’m 45. I want to have more kids in the next few years,” Duhamel said. “So it’s more about finding someone young enough to have kids. It’s not as if I’m out there trying to just [expletive] anything. That’s not who I am. I’m trying to find a girl that I can be with and have a family with.”
Duhamel also made clear how he feels about his ex-wife, telling Shepard, “Fergie and I had a great relationship. I love that girl and I always will. Unfortunately, we didn’t work. But I will always have her back and she is the mother of my baby.”
Duhamel found love again, and in January 2022 announced his engagement to television host Audra Mari.
Fergie responded supportively, commenting, “Congrats!!!??????.” Duhamel has obviously moved on, and it seems that Fergie has, too. Kudos to them for forging such a positive environment for their son and supporting one another even if their marriage didn’t work.