Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Engagements Who Is Audra Mari? Everything to Know About Josh Duhamel's New Fiancée Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari got engaged over the weekend with a special message in a bottle By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 9, 2022 03:58PM EST Photo: Zach Gibson/AFP via Getty Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari are on their way to "I do." On Saturday, the Transformers star, 49, who has been dating Mari since 2019 following his divorce from Fergie, happily announced that he and Mari are engaged. Sharing a photograph of the couple posing on the beach, Duhamel captioned the shot, "It's on!! She found a message in a bottle that washed ashore and said YES!! @audramari." In the photo, the actor could be seen holding up a handwritten letter that read: "Audra Diane Mari Will You Marry Me?" Josh Duhamel Announces Engagement to Audra Mari — and Gets Congratulations from Ex Fergie So who exactly is Duhamel's soon-to-be wife? She is a former beauty pageant contestant Back in 2014, Mari won the Miss North Dakota USA title. Later that same year, she would go on to place 2nd in the Miss USA pageant, which was held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Then, in 2016, Mari was crowned Miss World America and represented the United States at the Miss World pageant. She finished in 6th place. She has worked as a swimsuit model Mari also pursued a career in modeling and appeared in the Ocean Drive Swimsuit issue, according to CBS 4. While speaking with the outlet at the time, Mari encouraged young girls to not worry about being perfect. "Everybody has insecurities. Modeling is great because it brings out the positive things about yourself," she said. She is family-oriented Mari is a proud aunt and loves sharing photographs of family members on her Instagram feed. "Be brave. Be kind. Be YOU. I love you sweet girl… go get 'em♥️," Mari wrote alongside a recent post of her niece. She closed off the caption, adding: "Xx Auntie Audra." She has overcome bullying "It was a horrible thing that I went through. I hated going to school or sporting events," Mari previously told The Dickinson Press about bullying. "When someone robs you of your high school experience, it's hard to look at them and think they just made a mistake." "It really can happen to anyone, it doesn't matter if you're a star on a sports team, a pageant girl or a model. It's happening to so many girls," she added. "I think that if everyone joins hands and makes an effort to make it stop, that it really could." She hosts an online video series Last year, Mari dropped a new video series, Backroads, which follows her as she uncovers hidden gems in small town places. "It's. Finally. Here. (almost)," she wrote alongside an Instagram post in July. "I'm so proud of this project.. I'm SO proud of the entire team behind it.. and I cannot wait for you all to come along on this new journey with me." She has the support of her fiancé's ex-wife In the comments section of Duhamel's Instagram post announcing his engagement, the actor's ex, Fergie, 46, sent her love to the couple as they get ready to embark on their new life journey together (Duhamel and the singer share one child together, son Axl Jack, 8). "Congrats!!!💚💚💚💚💚💚," the "Fergalicious" singer commented.