Mark Wahlberg Says He and Wife Rhea Durham Are ‘Partners in Every Facet of Life’

Mark Wahlberg and his wife, Rhea Durham, have been together since 2001 and will celebrate their 15-year wedding anniversary in August. Ahead of the milestone, the actor opened up about how they’ve been able to make their relationship work for all of these years.

“We are partners in every facet of life,” Mark, 53, told Life & Style. “The amount of support that I have [from her] to be able to go off and do what I need to do and her holding it down and [then me] being there for her. Being in a marriage is about being together and supporting each other through everything. We’ve been through a lot and we just, you know, we realized very early on.”

The couple met in 2001 while he was doing a press junket and went on a date the next day. “I asked her if she wanted to come out with me, and she said, ‘Yes’,” the Ted star said in 2010. “Then I asked if she wanted to come to church with me the next morning, and she said, ‘Yes,’ again.”

Mark and Rhea, 45, are both dedicated to their Catholic faith, which Mark credits as another part of the reason why their marriage has been successful. “[We] got married in a church,” he said to Life & Style. “That’s a very important thing for us in becoming one and being partners. We’ve been very fortunate.”

Faith has played an important role in Mark’s life beyond his marriage, he admitted. “All success that I’ve had in my life is accredited to my faith,” the restaurant owner insisted. “There’s so much divide right now. The thing that’s gonna bring people together is love.”

Mark has always been very public about his love for Rhea. While celebrating her birthday on social media in 2021, he gushed, “Happy birthday to my wife, Rhea, who is not only a total smokeshow, but most importantly, an incredible mother to our four amazing children. Love you, babe!!”

Before Mark and Rhea tied the knot in August 2009, they had three kids – Ella, 20, Michael, 18, and Brendan, 15 – together. Their fourth child, Grace, 14, was born just months after their nuptials.

When it comes to the dating advice he would give his kids, Mark said he looks to his own relationship as inspiration. “The only thing I can do is be an example of how me and [their] mom are together,” he shared. “And hopefully that will resonate with all of our children.”

He previously opened up about Ella’s first boyfriend in 2022, but now revealed that she had broken up with the man she was dating. “He was a nice boy,” Mark confirmed. “I mean, I was hoping the first boyfriend was gonna be the one that would last forever. It was wishful thinking.”

Mark is currently focused on his new restaurant Flecha by Mark Wahlberg in Huntington Beach, California. “It’s a very extensive menu,” he dished. “Come for brunch. Come bring your family. Come have a cocktail. We want people to experience some wonderful food, have a lot of fun and enjoy themselves.”