Russell takes Laura up the Thames
The former wildman just made things official with his baby mama
Let’s face it, you’re taking on quite a lot of baggage with Russell Brand, with his drug-loving past, a former sex addiction and an A-list ex-wife. But last week, the comedian/actor persuaded someone he was well worth the effort, marrying Scottish lifestyle blogger Laura Gallacher, and it was smiles all round.
Russell, 42, and Laura, 30, had “an intimate service” in Henley-onthames, Oxon, which onlookers described as a “small, personal affair, rather than a circus”. A bit different to his 2010 Indian wedding to Katy Perry, then, where Russ famously arrived on an elephant. Last week’s ceremony, at Remenham Church, near their home, was attended by celeb mates Noel Gallagher, Jonathan Ross and Fearne Cotton. Also in attendance was Laura’s big sister, Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher.
Things might’ve been low-key, but that doesn’t mean they were conventional. Russell, who once dated supermodel Kate Moss, splashed out £2,300 on hiring an old-fashioned New Orleans-style steamboat for the occasion. The boat ferried the entire wedding party along the river to the reception, where staff served up an Indian-themed dinner. In the days after his nuptials, Russell told his listeners on Radio X that he was enjoying “living a married life now. I’m domestic”. He also admitted that he’d had his nose waxed in preparation. OK…
Russell and Laura have dated on and off since 2007 and got engaged in July 2016. They had baby girl Mabel last November, and Russell said he was “lit up by the idea” of being a parent, adding, “I’m very excited about becoming a dad and I’m preparing myself. I am just getting ready to be with a new little person.” The former ladies’ man has turned over a new leaf since getting serious with Laura, admitting in an interview that he was “enjoying monogamy”. Russell and Laura – who describes herself as “a lover of food and drink and general homemaking” – share a quiet life together in the countryside, which Russell says is “very calm. I look at the chickens, they hatch some eggs. Basically, I’m like a village idiot — just looking at livestock. I’m so much happier over the course of the day to see one or two people and a few chickens, that’s a good way of living.”
But did the chickens get an invite to the wedding? No, they did not. n