Josh Duhamel traded Hollywood for North Dakota, and he has no regrets.
“Well, we still have a house in Los Angeles that we have because I have a 12-year-old son [Axl, who he shares with first wife Fergie] who goes to school there and will be there until he’s done with school,” the actor told Fox News. “So we go back and forth between Fargo, North Dakota and Los Angeles. The house that I just sold was the house that was sort of my transition space between when I got divorced and when I started a new family.”
Duhamel explained that he would “rather put that money in North Dakota” and recently sold his California home. The actor also has a home in Minnesota, where he and his family — wife Audra Mari, and their two children, son Shepard, 2, and daughter Rocca, 2 months — spend time in an off-the-grid cabin.
“Part of the reason I built my place out in Minnesota, deep in the woods, is it’s removed from everything,” he told Parade in a 2025 interview. “The closest store is 40 miles away.”
Duhamel continued, “Once we get there, it’s really about everybody taking care of each other — making memories, spending time with family and friends. You really get a chance to get back to the basics. You’re not consumed by all these other distractions. When you’re out there, it’s really about having fun, making sure everybody’s warm, everybody’s got food and water.”
The actor said his rural home has brought him closer to his family, saying he is now “much closer to my dad,” and the pair have “spent more time together in these last five, 10 years than we ever did growing up.”
Related: Actor Josh Duhamel Left Hollywood for North Dakota: ‘Missed the Simplicity’
“My son is going to have memories of this place forever,” Duhamel explained. “He’s not on his iPad when he’s out there. He’s out there in the boat with me, or he’s playing soccer on the beach, or he’s out there in the woods doing whatever I’m doing. And then I have a little baby who’s going to experience the same thing.”
He continued, “Someday, I hope to pass this on to them [so] they’re able to share it with their kids. It’s really important to me that they have this. It’s not just about having all the amenities and all the luxuries that we become so used to. It’s really about family. It’s about legacy.”
In an interview with PEOPLE, Duhamel also said his time in Minnesota is a welcome break from his time in the entertainment industry.
“I make movies and TV shows, and I love it, I truly do love it, but I had this calling to go and really do things with my hands again — fix things, make things and just do the basic things that we take for granted,” he told the outlet. “I’m really more of a guy who wants to stay true to my roots, get back to the basics, hone whatever basic skills I need in this world of massive technology, to do the basic things to provide for my family. That’s really what it’s about for me.”
Duhamel’s decision to get out of Hollywood is a good reminder to think about what really matters.
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