Josh Duhamel feared his wife Audra Mari was "too young" for him because of the 21-year age gap

During an appearance on The Skinny Confidential podcast, he explained: "We had a barbecue at my house. It was some of my friends from Hollywood, it was some of my friends from back home [North Dakota], there were kids .. it was like a good, old-fashioned barbecue.

"And she and I had been in contact because I knew she was from North Dakota, she'd done really, really well in Miss USA [beauty pageant]. I wasn't even inviting her because I wanted to date her because she was too young for me to be honest.

"I wasn't looking for [that]. I'm not going to be that dude. So I invited her and she comes to the door and I'm like: 'Holy s***. [She's] so beautiful.'

"I was still like: 'No, no, no'."

However, Josh was won over by Audra after seeing the way she interacted with the children at the barbecue - admitting she came across as "really wholesome" and reminded him of "home".

He said: "I was entertaining people. We hardly even talked at the barbecue. She was like: 'This dude has no interest in me'. She left ... And I remember the little bit of interaction we did have, we talked, and ... I remember her taking care of these kids at the party, making sure they had enough [to eat] and I was like that reminds me of home and the kind of girl I want to really be with.

"And I'd gone through a couple of relationships with girls here in LA and it just wasn't the same. There's something really wholesome about it and I think that was when I was like: 'Maybe she's not too young' ... Maybe I am that dude. I don't know. "

He went on to add: "[Now] we have a two year old ... [We've been married for] three years and we've been together for like seven ... "

Josh and Audra have moved away from Los Angeles and the actor previously revealed he built a house in Minnesota so his kids could grow up away from Hollywood.

He told E! News: "You know, 16, 17, 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, and for me to now be able to pass that on to my kids out there is great."

Josh acknowledged that Los Angeles is "fantastic" but he thinks his kids will ultimately benefit from growing up in a different setting, adding: "It's also nice to get them out in the woods and get dirty and learn a few things that I learned growing up."