Josh Duhamel got real about his life out of Hollywood after he moved back to a small town in Minnesota.
“Sixteen, seventeen years ago when I built this place, it was weirdly me almost reliving my youth in a way because I grew up out in the woods in North Dakota,” Duhamel, 52, told E! News about the property in an interview published on Tuesday, September 16. “For me to now be able to pass that on to my kids out there is great.”
While Duhamel said that Los Angeles is “fantastic,” he added, “It’s also nice to get them out in the woods and get dirty and learn a few things that I learned growing up.”
Duhamel bought a plot of land in rural Minnesota nearly 20 years ago, which he viewed as an escape from Hollywood. He built a house from the group up to live his perfect “off-the-grid” lifestyle, which he enjoys today with his sons, Shepherd, 1, and Axl, 12, and his wife, Audra Mari.
The New Year’s Eve actor shared the insight into his low-key lifestyle just five months after he exclusively spoke to Parade about the Midwest property.
“Part of the reason I built my place out in Minnesota, deep in the woods, is it’s removed from everything,” he said during the April interview. “The closest store is 40 miles away. Once we get there, it’s really about everybody taking care of each other — making memories, spending time with family and friends.”
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Duhamel went on the share that the home has made just as big of an impact on his kids as it did on him. “My son is going to have memories of this place forever. He’s not on his iPad when he’s out there,” he said of Axl. “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. 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,” Duhamel continued. “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.”