Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham started dating in 2001 and were married in 2009. Together they have had four children and a pretty normal life for celebrities, as they have stayed off the radar and she hasn’t brought any unwanted attention to their relationship and marriage. Prior to her marriage, however, she was a Victoria’s Secret model, and fashion model, appearing in magazines including Vogue, Marie Claire and ELLE magazine.
The American model’s career took off when she signed with IMG Models, and not long after she became a hot commodity around the world, catching the attention of fashion magazines around the world. But a random press tour in New York put the two future Mr. and Mrs. Wahlberg in the same city and the rest, as they say, was history.
And if it wasn’t for Rhea, Mark has said he could be in a lot of trouble, and thanks her for being the man he is today.
“I owe a lot to my wife,” he told the U.K.’s The Sun in 2008. “She has helped me become the man that I am and created a beautiful life for me and our children. … You need the right woman in your life and that feeling that you’re going to be together for a long time. That’s especially important if you’re going to have children.”
Modelling Career Started Young
Before getting married or even meeting Mark Wahlberg, Rhea Durham worked as a model from the time she was 15 years old after getting discovered by a model scout at a mall. She would then start to travel between Paris and New York for her assignments, doing fashion shows and advertisements, becoming a name for herself by the way she walked the ramp for various big names in Paris and Milan.
By the start of the 2000s, she was landing the highest profile gigs, including working for Victoria’s Secret at their fashion show in 2000 and again in 2001.
“Someone found me in a shopping mall when I was 14,” said Rhea in an interview with Video Fashion. “And then I went to Paris when I was 17. I like Paris because it is very creative. Everyone has their own ideas about everything and that’s exciting.”
Starting so young as a model meant the teenager was jetting across the world for fashion shows and that made her grow up very quickly.
“I don’t think I’ve changed as a person,” said Rhea. “I’ve grown up really fast, I feel so old.”
She also appeared on the 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards. Rhea has walked in fashion shows for designers such as Gucci, Versace, Chanel, Valentino, Michael Kors, and Carolina Herrera.
A Brief Role In Television
While her husband Mark Wahlberg is best known for being an actor in some major movies, his wife Rhea hasn’t had a massive career in front of the moving camera, but rather, has had a few roles in smaller television shows. Back in 2001, she got a spot on the television sitcom ‘Spin City’ in an episode entitled ‘The Wedding Scammer’. But beyond that, she has stayed off the camera for the most part, except for a few episodes here and there on the family reality television show called Wahlburgers, which films in Boston.
But for the most part, Rhea has kept it pretty quiet and enjoyed being a mother and a wife to Mark, keeping him on the straight and narrow whenever he goes off into a different direction, allowing him to focus on his career while she takes care of the home.
“I also knew that she loved me for who I am and that she was someone I could trust. Until I met her, I wasn’t ready to have a family,” said Mark. “You need the right woman in your life and that feeling that you’re going to be together for a long time."
Taking Care Of The Family
As mentioned, Rhea and Mark have a large family, as they have four children already. And according to Mark, even though she says she is done, she wouldn’t probably be happy to have more.
“She’s saying she’s done. But she still might have a change of heart! She loves being a mother, so she may end up wanting more,” said Mark. “Every Thursday. We’ll leave the house in late afternoon and go to an early movie or just hang out somewhere. Then we’ll go to dinner and catch up. But even when we go out, we like to get home to put the kids to bed.”
And the way to have a successful marriage and family is to be involved as much as they can, so Rhea has taken a back seat in her work and has supported Mark’s movie career while she stays involved with the family.
"I think the most important thing is to always be involved in every aspect of their life," Mark said. "To give them enough trust that they can share things with you. I don’t want them to be terrified of me, you know? But I don’t want them to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it, either, because they can’t."
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